Anti-sense expression of putrescine N-methyltransferase confirms defensive role of nicotine in Nicotiana sylvestris against Manduca sexta |
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Authors: | Claudia Voelckel Tamara Krügel Klaus Gase Nadja Heidrich Nicole M van Dam Robert Winz Ian T Baldwin |
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Institution: | (1) Kentucky Research and Development Center, University of Kentucky, Naprogenix, Inc, Lexington, KY 40515, USA;(2) Present address: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA;(3) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40515, USA;(4) Fungi and Plant Co. Ltd, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea;(5) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts, One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854, USA; |
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Abstract: | Summary. Several lines of evidence support the defensive function of nicotine production in the Nicotiana genus against a range of herbivores, but the evidence is largely correlative. To suppress nicotine production in planta and to test its defensive function, we expressed DNA of putrescine N-methyl transferase in an anti-sense orientation (AS-PMT) in N. sylvestris and fed leaf material from two lines of transformed and wild type plants to Manduca sexta larvae. Larvae consumed more leaf area and gained more mass on the foliage of plants with low PMT expression and low nicotine levels as compared to plants with high PMT expression and high nicotine levels and wild type plants. Overall, larval consumption and performance were negatively correlated with constitutive nicotine levels. We conclude that nicotine decreases the palatability of N. sylvestris leaves to the nicotine-resistant M. sexta larvae. |
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