Transgenic Paulownia expressing shiva-1 gene has increased resistance to Paulownia witches' broom disease

Stem segments from diseased Paulownia tomentosa xP. fortunei and leaves from healthy control were transformed with the expression vector p438PRSI via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The p43 8PRSI vector contained shiva-1 gene, which encodes an antibacterial peptide under the control of a CaMV35S promoter. The regenerated plants from transformed explants were planted in a greenhouse and nursery. PCR and Southern blotting analysis showed that the shiva-1 gene was successfully integrated into the Paulownia genome. Transcription of the integrated shiva-1 gene was confirmed by RT-PCR. Bioassay in the green house and phytoplasma DNA-dot blotting demonstrated that resistance to Paulownia witch's broom disease (PWB) increased significantly in shiva-1 -transgenic Paulownia. Further investigations indicated that higher Shiva-1 expression correlated with fewer phytoplasma and less symptoms in diseased transgenic Paulownia. Together, our findings strongly suggest that breeding shiva-1-Paulownia is an effective strategy to control PWB disease.