Recombinant cystatins in plants

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Protease inhibitors have long been recognized as useful biopesticides for the development of pest-resistant transgenic crops. Recent studies have also described indirect effects for these proteins on the modified plant’s own physiology, potentially useful to introduce such new traits of agronomical value as drought tolerance or pathogen resistance. Taking advantage of novel technologies involving functional proteomics and protein engineering, this project aims at characterizing further the effects of protease inhibitors in transgenic plants, and at expanding their usefulness to protect plants against multiple stress cues. Engineered inhibitors with variable effects on the host plant's metabolism will also be designed to test the feasibility of avoiding, or by contrast amplifying, the observed effects in planta. A first output of the project will be a novel way to implement multiple stress tolerance in crop plants by the introduction of a single new gene. A second output will be to demonstrate the feasibility of modulating the effects of foreign genes on the host plant’s attributes, and thus to provide a proof-of-concept of our ability to rationally controlling the fine balance between the intended and unintended effects of foreign proteins in genetically modified crops. Research efforts to detect and decipher eventual attribute changes in novel-generation transgenic crops will be welcome in coming years to establish their usefulness in agriculture, and to help maintain Canada at the forefront in plant biotechnology R&D.