Enhancing resistance of transgenic carrot to fungal pathogens by the expression of Pseudomonas fluorescence microbial factor 3 (MF3) gene

Microbial factor 3 (MF3) gene from a plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria Pseudomonas fluorescence was introduced into carrot genome using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The obtained transgenic plants expressing MF3 protein were grown in a glasshouse and evaluated for their resistance to phytopathogens. The assays were performed by the assessment of disease symptoms developing on the detached leaflets and petioles inoculated by three fungal pathogens. The results showed that transgenic plants had significantly enhanced resistance to Alternaria dauci, Alternaria radicina and Botrytis cinerea, on average, by 20–40% in comparison to the non-transformed control plants. This is the first report of enhancing plant resistance by expressing the bacterial protein homologous to the family of FK506-binding proteins.