ELICITOR PEPTIDES HAVING DISRUPTED HYPERSENSITIVE RESPONSE BOX AND USE THEREOF

摘要

Disclosed are peptides that induce an active plant response, but not a hypersensitive response, when applied to plant tissue. These peptides also preferably exhibit improved solubility, stability, resistance to chemical degradation, or a combination of these properties. Use of these peptides or fusion polypeptides, or DNA constructs encoding the same, for modulating plant biochemical signaling, imparting disease resistance to plants, enhancing plant growth, imparting tolerance to biotic stress, imparting tolerance and resistance to abiotic stress, imparting desiccation resistance to cuttings removed from ornamental plants, imparting post-harvest disease or post-harvest desiccation resistance to a fruit or vegetable, or enhancing the longevity of fruit or vegetable ripeness are also disclosed.

主权项

1. An isolated peptide comprising the amino acid sequence of
J-X-X-X-J-J-X-X-X-J-J-X-X-X-J-J (SEQ ID NO: 1) wherein the peptide is free of cysteine and methionine; the peptide has an average Kyte-Doolittle hydropathy index of less than −0.3; each X at positions 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, and 13 is optional and, when present, is any amino acid; each X at positions 4, 9, and 14 is any amino acid; one to two of J at positions 1, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, and 16 is a non-hydrophobic amino acid or A, and all other of J are L, I, V, or F; and the peptide induces an active plant response, but does not induce a hypersensitive response, when applied to plant tissue.