Bacterial blight is a serious problem of rice in irrigated and rainfed lowlands. It is caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) which is represented by many pathotypes, making it difficult to control. Plant proteases are important players in immunity acting either in the execution of attack, in signaling cascade or in perception of invader. This study demonstrates the response of cysteine protease (CP) upon interaction with the pathogen. The cysteine protease encoding full-length cDNA was identified and characterized using web-based tools. Conserved domain of the gene revealed its affinity to Peptidase_CIA family. The full-length cDNA of CP in Brassica rapa was then cloned and overexpressed in rice. Insertion of gene was verified in the transformants through PCR assay. Spatiotemporal expression of the gene was performed in transgenic rice. To evaluate the resistance of CP-overexpression lines to Xoo, transgenic plants were inoculated with two races of Xoo. In planta analysis of enzymatic activity of CP was also performed before and after infection by the pathogen.

• Marjohn Nino(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Sailila E. Abdula(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Hye-Jung Lee(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Dal-A Yu(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Mi-Sun Kim(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Sanguk Byeon(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Franz Nogoy(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University)
• Kwon-Kyoo Kang(Dept. of Horticulture, Hankyong National University)
• Illsup Nou(Dept. of Horticulture, Sunchon National University)
• Yong-Gu Cho(Dept. of Crop Science, Chungbuk National University) Corresponding Author