Biochemical responses in transgenic rice plants expressing a defence gene deployed against the sheath blight pathogen, Rhizodonia solani

Abstract

Diverse defence responses were studied in transgenic Pusa Basmati1 (PB1) rice lines engineered with rice chitinase gene (chill) for resistance against the sheath blight pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani. Enhancement of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, peroxidase, and polyphenoloxidase enzyme activities in response to the pathogen challenge under controlled conditions resulted in reduced symptom development and containment of disease in transgenic rice lines compared to non-transgenic control plants. Loss of chlorophyll resulting from R. solani infection was comparatively less in transgenic plants. Our results provide new information on the biochemical basis of chitinase-based fungal resistance in transgenic plants