Monsanto Technology LLC

Jeffrey W Seale

Jihong Liang

Yonnie S Wu

Paul B Vordtriede

Cindy A Mittanck

Greg J Bunkers

The present invention relates to an antifungal protein, AlfAFP1, which is a modified form of an antifungal protein isolated fromplants, the modified form exhibiting enhanced anti-fungal activity for controlling fungal pathogenesis in plants. A method for inhibiting fungal colonization of plants is described which includes preparation of nucleotide sequences encoding the modified antifungal protein, preparation of vectors containing the nucleotide coding sequence, and methods for transforming plants with the nucleotide sequences. The polypeptide can be formulated into compositions useful in controlling plant pathogenic fungi.

Amino acid sequence variant alfalfa antifungal protein and its use in plant disease control

A novel protein was isolated fromand characterized. The protein, termed FCWP1, demonstrated significant antifungal activity against several fungal species. Mutations in proteolytic consensus sequences contained within FCWP1 improved the stability of its antifungal activity. In addition, a class of proteins related to FCWP1 was identified and characterized. This class is made up of ribosomal proteins and displayed similar values for pI and molecular weight. A representative number of proteins from this class were tested and found to have significant antifungal activities. The antifungal proteins disclosed herein are useful in controlling fungal infections in plants. Transgenic plants may be produced that are more resistant to fungal infections relative to non-transgenic plants of the same species. Alternatively, the proteins may be applied to plants exogenously.

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Ballwin, MO, United States of America

Jeffrey W Seale