Recombinant cystatins in plants

长期以来，蛋白酶抑制剂一直被认为是开发抗虫转基因作物的有用生物杀虫剂。最近的研究也描述了这些蛋白质对转基因植物自身生理的间接影响，可能有助于引入具有农艺价值的新性状，如耐旱性或抗病原性。利用功能蛋白质组学和蛋白质工程的新技术，本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重胁迫信号影响方面的作用。对寄主植物的新陈代谢有不同影响的工程抑制剂也将被设计来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通过引入单一新基因在作物中实现多重抗逆性的新方法。第二个成果将是证明调节外源基因对寄主植物属性的影响的可行性，从而提供一个概念证明，证明我们有能力合理地控制转基因作物中外源蛋白预期和意外影响之间的精细平衡。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，以确定它们在农业中的实用性，并帮助加拿大保持在植物生物技术研发方面的领先地位。

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.