Expression of a bacterial aroA gene confers tolerance to glyphosate in tobacco plants

Authors: FENG LIU, YUEPING CAO

Abstract: Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide that inhibits the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS)-encoding aroA gene in the shikimate pathway. The discovery and cloning of the aroA gene with high resistance is central to breeding a transgenic glyphosate-resistant plant. A novel aroA_Pantoea gene from Pantoea G-1 was previously isolated and cloned. The aroA_Pantoea enzyme was defined as a new class I EPSPS with glyphosate resistance. The aroA_Pantoea gene was introduced into tobacco through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The transgenic tobacco plants were confirmed by PCR, RT-PCR, and Southern blot. The analysis of glyphosate resistance also showed that the transgenic tobacco plants could survive at 15 mM glyphosate; the glyphosate resistance level of the transgenic plants is higher than the agricultural application level recommended by most manufacturers. Overall, this study shows that aroA _Pantoea can be used as a candidate gene for the development of genetically modified crops.

Keywords: aroA , glyphosate, Pantoea , tobacco, transformation

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