Genetic Transformation of Brassica napus with MSI-99m Gene Increases Resistance in Transgenic Plants to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Magainins are a class of antimicrobial peptides isolated from skin secretions of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis . MSI-99 is a synthesized magainin II analogue with inhibitory effects to a wide spectrum of microbial organisms, including bacteria, fungus and viruses. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is one of the most destructive pathogens in rape ( Brassica napus ), causing devastating yield losses. To evaluate its resistance to rape Sclerotina rot, we transferred the MSI-99m gene (modified MSI-99 ) into Chinese rape variety Zhongyou 821 using Agrobacterium -mediated method. Nine transformed lines carrying a MSI-99m expression vector were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), among which seven lines expressed MSI-99m gene according to qRT–PCR analysis. Disease resistance analysis consistently showed that the high level expression of MSI-99m increased resistance to S. sclerotiorum in transgenic rape lines. This result demonstrated that MSI-99m gene may be applied as a resistant gene resource in rape for the improvement of rape varieties.