Transgenic indica rice expressing a bitter melon (Momordica charantia) class I chitinase gene (McCHIT1) confers enhanced resistance to Magnaporthe grisea and Rhizoctonia solani

McCHIT1 chitinase (DQ407723), a class I secretory endochitinase from bitter melon (Momordica charantia), had been demonstrated to enhance resistance against Phytophthora nicotianae and Verticillium wilt in transgenic tobacco and cotton. In order to obtain disease-resistant transgenic rice, McCHIT1 was transformed into a restorer line JinHui35 (Oryza sativa subsp. indica) by using the herbicide-resistance gene Bar as the selection marker. Transgenic rice lines and their progenies overexpressing the McCHIT1 gene showed enhanced resistance to Magnaporthe grisea (rice blast) and Rhizoctonia solani (sheath blight), two major fungal pathogens of rice. McCHIT1-transgenic rice confirmed the inheritance of the transgene and disease resistance to the subsequent generation. The T-2 transformants exhibited significantly increased tolerance to M. grisea, with a 30.0 to 85.7 reduction in disease index, and R. solani, with a 25.0 to 43.0 reduction in disease index, based on that of the control as 100. These results indicated that over-expression of the McCHIT1 gene could lead to partial disease reduction against these two important pathogens in transgenic rice.