Recombinant cystatins in plants

蛋白酶抑制剂长期以来被认为是开发抗害虫转基因作物的有用生物农药。最近的研究还描述了这些蛋白质对改性植物自身生理的间接影响，可能有助于引入具有农学价值的新性状，如耐旱性或病原体抗性。利用涉及功能蛋白质组学和蛋白质工程的新技术，该项目旨在进一步表征蛋白酶抑制剂在转基因植物中的作用，并扩大其在保护植物免受多种胁迫信号方面的用途。还将设计对宿主植物代谢具有可变影响的工程化抑制剂，以测试避免或通过对比放大在植物中观察到的影响的可行性。该项目的第一个成果将是一种通过引入单一新基因在作物中实现多重胁迫耐受性的新方法。第二个产出将是证明调节外源基因对宿主植物属性的影响的可行性，从而为我们合理控制转基因作物中外源蛋白质的预期和非预期影响之间的精细平衡的能力提供概念验证。未来几年，检测和破译新一代转基因作物最终属性变化的研究工作将受到欢迎，以确定其在农业中的用途，并帮助加拿大保持在植物生物技术研发的前沿。

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.