Enhanced resistance to the poplar fungal pathogen, Septoria musiva, in hybrid poplar clones transformed with genes encoding antimicrobial peptides

Plasmids, pCA1 and pCWEA1, carrying antimicrobial peptide gene(s), Ac-AMP1.2 and ESF12, were used to transform hybrid poplar clones Ogy and NM6. Peptide Ac-AMP1.2 is an analog of Ac-AMP1 which is one of the smallest chitin-binding proteins. Synthetic peptide ESF12 mimics the amphipathic alpha-helix found in magainins. Transgene mRNA was detected in the transformed plants. When evaluated for resistance to hybrid poplar pathogen Septoria musiva with an in vitro leaf disk assay, the transformed Ogy plants showed significantly increased pathogen resistance as compared to the untransformed Ogy.