Temme Nora, Haehre Tobias, Boyher Clarissa, Hoppe Lydia, Davenport Colin, Stumo Zach, Prenzler Kai, Maeser Anja, Pflugmacher Maike, Koch Kerstin, Stahl Dietmar J
KWS SAAT SE, Einbeck, Germany.
KWS Gateway Research Center, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2025 Aug;23(8):3054-3067. doi: 10.1111/pbi.70133. Epub 2025 May 9.
Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans is the most serious disease of potatoes. Here we present the effectiveness of the host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) technology against an amino acid biosynthesis gene of the pathogen to increase the resistance against the plant-infecting oomycete in the field. A RNAi hairpin construct directed against the acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene of Phytophthora infestans was transferred into potato. HIGS-ALS potato lines displayed efficient target gene silencing revealed by a luciferase reporter gene assay. Plant-derived siRNAs targeting the oomycete's ALS gene were detected by small RNA sequencing. ALS gene expression of P. infestans was reduced during the early infection stages of HIGS-ALS potatoes, as shown by qRT-PCR. HIGS-ALS plants revealed an enhanced late blight resistance in detached leaf assays. ALS gene silencing also conferred strong enhanced late blight resistance to the HIGS lines in trials under near-field conditions in Europe and in field trials in the USA against European and US P. infestans isolates, respectively. These results demonstrated the value of the HIGS technology for the development of a new quantitative resistance source for potato against Phytophthora infestans.
由致病疫霉引起的晚疫病是马铃薯最严重的病害。在此，我们展示了宿主诱导基因沉默（HIGS）技术针对病原菌一个氨基酸生物合成基因的有效性，以增强马铃薯在田间对这种植物感染性卵菌的抗性。一个针对致病疫霉乙酰乳酸合成酶（ALS）基因的RNAi发夹结构被转入马铃薯。荧光素酶报告基因检测显示，HIGS-ALS马铃薯株系表现出有效的靶基因沉默。通过小RNA测序检测到了靶向卵菌ALS基因的植物源小干扰RNA。qRT-PCR结果表明，在HIGS-ALS马铃薯的早期感染阶段，致病疫霉的ALS基因表达降低。在离体叶片试验中，HIGS-ALS植株表现出增强的晚疫病抗性。在欧洲的近场条件试验以及美国针对欧洲和美国致病疫霉分离株的田间试验中，ALS基因沉默也分别赋予了HIGS株系很强的晚疫病抗性增强。这些结果证明了HIGS技术对于开发马铃薯抗致病疫霉新的数量抗性源的价值。
