荷蘭瓦赫寧根大學的研究人員正通過一種新的育種策略來培育抗病作物品種,，這種策略是使某些基因失效而非轉(zhuǎn)入新基因。據(jù)研究人員稱,，利用分子技術(shù)關(guān)閉某些基因的表達已經(jīng)在作物品質(zhì)改良方面使用多年,，但一直沒有利用這種方法進行隱性突變來增加植物對病原體抗性。在Molecular Breeding發(fā)表的一篇綜述性文章中,，荷蘭瓦赫寧根大學的Yuling Bai教授,、Evert Jacobsen教授以及Richard Visser教授對這一方法進行了闡述。
在這篇文章里,，Yuling Bai教授和他的同事探討了易感基因方面的新發(fā)現(xiàn),，這些基因能被病原體激活從而破壞植物的免疫能力。大麥中的Mlo基因是人們發(fā)現(xiàn)的第一個易感基因。人們發(fā)現(xiàn)這種基因在抗白粉病品種中沒有功能,，將擬南芥中的Mlo基因沉默使其不發(fā)揮功能時,，該作物能對這種病產(chǎn)生抗性。
據(jù)科學家稱,，針對這種新的育種策略,，廣大植物學家和育種專家還存有爭議。Jacobsen說：“在過去的2年半里我們一直在討論這種策略,，并不是每個人都認同它的潛力,。有人說：基因沉默不是新技術(shù)，我們需要的是抗性基因,。你們應(yīng)該研究新技術(shù),、新策略，這才是大學的任務(wù),。” 目前Jacobsen和他的團隊正在研究馬鈴薯中的晚疫病易感基因,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Molecular Breeding DOI 10.1007/s11032-009-9323-6
Loss of susceptibility as a novel breeding strategy for durable and broad-spectrum resistance
Stefano Pavan1, 2, Evert Jacobsen1, Richard G. F. Visser1 and Yuling Bai1
(1) Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences, Wageningen UR-Plant Breeding, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
(2) Department of Agroforestry, Environmental Biology and Chemistry, Section of Genetics and Plant Breeding, University of Bari, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy
Abstract Recent studies on plant immunity have suggested that a pathogen should suppress induced plant defense in order to infect a plant species, which otherwise would have been a nonhost to the pathogen. For this purpose, pathogens exploit effector molecules to interfere with different layers of plant defense responses. In this review, we summarize the latest findings on plant factors that are activated by pathogen effectors to suppress plant immunity. By looking from a different point of view into host and nonhost resistance, we propose a novel breeding strategy: disabling plant disease susceptibility genes (S-genes) to achieve durable and broad-spectrum resistance.
