AsiaIPEX is a one-stop-shop for players in the IP industry, facilitating IP trade and connection to the IP world. Whether you are a patent owner interested in selling your IP, or a manufacturer looking to buy technologies to upgrade your operation, you will find the portal a useful resource.
Back to search results

Root-knot nematode-resistant plants

Detailed Technology Description
This technologyprovides for certain genetic modifications of plants to render them withbroad resistance to infection by root-knot nematodes. Nematodes area large group of invertebrate animals commonly referred to as roundworms,threadworms, eelworms, or “nema”.  Mostnematodes feed on bacteria, fungi and other soil organisms, while others areparasitic, obtaining their food from animals and plants.  Plant- parasitic nematodes are found inassociation with most plants.  Some areendoparasitic, living and feeding within the tissue of roots, tubers, leaves,etc.  The yield of plants infected with nematodesis greatly reduced. Endoparasitic root feeders include the root-knotnematodes.  Root-knot nematodes formgalls on infected roots.  The gallsdrastically decrease the plant’s ability to take up water and nutrients. Thisresults in stunted growth, impaired fruit production, yellow or wilted foliage,and increased susceptibility to other stress factors such as drought andnutritional deficiencies.  Nematode feedingalso creates open wounds that provide entry for other pathogens such as fungiand bacteria.  The greatest impact oncrop productivity occurs when nematodes attack the roots of seedlings.
*Abstract

Once a plantis infected, it is impossible to kill the nematode without also destroying the host.  The existing methods for nematode control useseveral strategies, including the use of pesticides, cover crops, croprotation, and biological control organisms. Researchers at UGA have identified a gene from root-knot nematodesalivary glands that is uniquely associated with root-knot nematode parasitismof crops.  This gene is present in differentspecies of root-knot nematodes, and inactivating this gene via geneticallymodified plants provides a novel form of transgenic root-knot nematode controlthat may offer a means for resistance to multiple species of this pathogen.


References and Intellectual Property

 

  • US Patents 7,576,261,7,915,479

  • Sindhu AS, Maier TR, Mitchum MG, Hussey RS,Davis EL, Baum TJ: Effective and specific in planta RNAi in cyst nematodes:expression interference of four parasitism genes reduces parasitic success. J Exp Bot. 2009;60(1):315-24

  • Huang G, Allen R, Davis EL, Baum TJ, HusseyRS.: Engineering broad root-knot resistance intransgenic plants by RNAi silencing of a conserved and essential root-knotnematode parasitism gene. ProcNatl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Sep26;103(39):14302-6

  • Semblat JP, Rosso MN, Hussey RS, Abad P,Castagnone-Sereno P: Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding an amphid-secretedputative avirulence protein from the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita.MolPlant Microbe Interact. 2001 Jan;14(1):72-9
Country/Region
USA

For more information, please click Here
Mobile Device