Title : A novel protein elicitor extracted from lecanicillium lecanii Induced resistance against whitefly, bemisia tabaci in cotton
Abstract:
Protein elicitors play a key role in signaling or displaying plant defense mechanism and emerging as vital tools for bio-control of insects.This study was aimed the characterization of the novel protein elicitor isolated from entomopathogenic fungi Lecanicillium lecanii (V3) strain and its activity against Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci in cotton. The sequence of purified elicitor protein showed 100% similarity with hypothetical protein LEL_00878 [Cordyceps confragosa RCEF 1005], GenBank no (OAA81333.1). This novel protein elicitor has 253 amino acid residues and 762bp with molecular mass of 29 kDa. The protein recombinant was expressed in Escherichia coli using pET?28a (+) plasmid. Effects of purified novel protein elicitor on Bemisia tabaci were determined at three concentrations of protein (i.e., 58.32, 41.22, 35.41 μg mL−1) on cotton plants and were exposed newly molted adult B.tabaci. Bioassay results showed a significant effect of the exogenous application of novel protein elicitor on B. tabaci in cotton. In addition, the gene expression analysis found a significant up-regulation of the major genes associated to salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) linked plant defense pathways in elicitor protein treated plants. Our results suggested that the potential application of novel protein elicitor derived from Lecanicillium lecanii as future bio-intensive controlling approaches against whitefly, Bemisia tabaci.
