| Currently there are no adequate control measures for the cotton fungal diseases Verticillium wilt and Fusarium wilt, which are important factors limiting yield under certain conditions. Gastrodia antifungal protein (GAFP) isolated from traditional Chinese medicinal herb Gastrodia elata B1. is a small protein with a broad spectrum of antifungal activity. As it shows strong resistence to many pathogenic fungi including Verticillium dahliae kleb and Fusarium oxysporum f. Sp. vasinfectum which cause cotton wilt, it possesses important potential in plant antifungal genetic engineering. In this study the gene encoding a Gastrodia anti-fungal protein was introduced into three cultivars of cotton using the method of pollen-tube pathway transformation, with the purpose of obtaining transgenic plants with improved resistance to wilt. Of the 58 kanamycin-resistant cotton plants two, XinB-01-1 and XinB-01-08, were scored as transgenic based on Sourthern blot. Field analysis demonstrated that the transgenic lines XinB-01-1 and XinB-01-08 posses an increased resistance to wilt. After 2 years of breeding, the progeny of XinB-01-1 and XinB-01-08 lines still showed a stable and strong resistance to Verticillium wilt and Fusarium wilt. Lines with high levels of resistance to Verticillium wilt and Fusarium wilt obtained from the present study may be widely planted and help to reduce the future impact of cotton wilt on production resulting in increased yields. Present study provided an effective approach for the prevention and control of cotton wilt by genetic engineering which possess significant potential in cotton production.
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