Dinitroaniline herbicide-resistant transgenic tobacco plants generated by co-overexpression of a mutant alpha-tubulin and a beta-tubulin

Nat Biotechnol. 1999 Jul;17(7):712-6. doi: 10.1038/10931.

Abstract

Dinitroaniline herbicides are used for the selective control of weeds in arable crops. Dinitroaniline herbicide resistance in the invasive weed goosegrass was previously shown to stem from a spontaneous mutation in an alpha-tubulin gene. We transformed and regenerated tobacco plants with an alpha/beta-tubulin double gene construct containing the mutant alpha-tubulin gene and showed that expression of this construct confers a stably inherited dinitroaniline-resistant phenotype in tobacco. In all transformed lines, the transgene alpha- and beta-tubulins increased the cytoplasmic pool of tubulin approximately 1.5-fold while repressing endogenous alpha- and beta-tubulin synthesis by up to 45% in some tissues. Transgene alpha- and beta-tubulin were overexpressed in every plant tissue analyzed and comprised approximately 66% of the total tubulin in these tissues. Immunolocalization studies revealed that transgene alpha- and beta-tubulins were incorporated into all four microtubule arrays, indicating that they are functional. The majority of the alpha/beta-tubulin pools are encoded by the transgenes, which implies that the mutant alpha-tubulin and the beta-tubulin can perform the majority, if not all, of the roles of microtubules in both juvenile and adult tobacco plants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aniline Compounds / pharmacology*
  • Benzamides / pharmacology
  • Biotechnology
  • Dinitrobenzenes / pharmacology
  • Drug Resistance
  • Herbicides / pharmacology*
  • Microtubules / metabolism
  • Nicotiana / drug effects*
  • Nicotiana / genetics
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / drug effects*
  • Plants, Toxic*
  • Sulfanilamides*
  • Tubulin / genetics
  • Tubulin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Aniline Compounds
  • Benzamides
  • Dinitrobenzenes
  • Herbicides
  • Sulfanilamides
  • Tubulin
  • pronamide
  • oryzalin
  • pendimethalin