A plant's immune system is turned on when it perceives the presence of pathogens. An active immune system impacts growth, making it a challenge to balance plant immunity and growth in breeding disease resistance. The research team explored using soybean (Glycine max) polyamine oxidase (GmPAO), which produces hydrogen peroxide by oxidizing spermidine and spermine.
When GmPAO was overexpressed in transgenic soybeans, more spermidine and spermine were produced after exposure to P. sojae, compared with non-transgenic counterparts. The transgenic soybean exhibited enhanced resistance to various P. sojae isolates and improved production of hydrogen peroxide.
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