RNAi-mediated silencing of PEX6 and GAS1 genes of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici confers resistance against Fusarium wilt in tomato

In the present study, we have explored the potential of the RNAi mediated silencing of genes encoding peroxisomal biogenesis factor and beta-1,3-glucanosyltransferase in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol) to confer resistance to Fusarium wilt in transgenic tomato plants. The partial gene fragments from these genes were utilized independently to generate hairpin RNAi constructs in appropriate silencing vectors and used for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tomato. The presence of gene-specific siRNAs was confirmed by stem-loop RT-PCR analysis of selected transgenic tomato lines. Transgenic lines expressing gene-specific dsRNA displayed enhanced resistance to Fol with delayed development of disease symptoms. The survival rate of transgenic tomato lines after fungal infection was higher as compared to that of the untransformed tomato plants.