Abstract Aphids are sap-sucking insects and are pests that cause substantial damage to many crops worldwide. Spodoptera litura is a leaf-chewing insect and poses a severe threat to many species of vegetable and cotton plants. In this paper, we studied an ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) that enhances plant resistance to sap-sucking and leaf-chewing insects. ERF11-like was obtained from Chinese cabbage via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and was termed BrERF11b. The putative protein encoded by the BrERF11b gene includes 168 amino acid residues and contains an EAR motif. The plasmid pBI121-BrERF11b was constructed and transformed into tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum cv. K326 and N. benthamiana) by the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method. The function of the BrERF11b gene in the resistance of the transgenic plants to Myzus persicae and S. litura was assayed. The results showed that the weights of the S. litura larvae fed the transgenic plant line were significantly reduced from 28 to 76% compared to those of the S. litura larvae fed the control plants (wild type), and the transgenic plant line KLine12 significantly reduced the survival rate of S. litura by 62.5%. The colony growth of the apteral aphids fed the transgenic plant line was significantly reduced from 22.5 to 63.4% compared to that of the apteral aphids fed the control plants. Compared to control plants, the transgenic plant line significantly reduced the survival rate of the aphids from 46 to 55%. These results first indicate that the BrERF11b gene significantly enhances plant resistance to S. litura and M. persicae.

中文翻译：

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ERF 转录因子增强植物对桃蚜和斜纹夜蛾的抗性

摘要 蚜虫是一种吸液昆虫，是对全世界许多作物造成重大损害的害虫。斜纹夜蛾是一种咀嚼树叶的昆虫，对许多植物和棉花植物构成严重威胁。在本文中，我们研究了一种乙烯反应因子 (ERF)，它可以增强植物对吸液和咀嚼树叶的昆虫的抵抗力。ERF11-like是通过逆转录聚合酶链反应从大白菜中获得的，命名为BrERF11b。由 BrERF11b 基因编码的推定蛋白质包括 168 个氨基酸残基并包含一个 EAR 基序。构建质粒pBI121-BrERF11b并通过农杆菌介导的转化方法转化到烟草植物（Nicotiana tabacum cv.K326和N.benthamiana）中。分析了 BrERF11b 基因在转基因植物对桃蚜和斜纹夜蛾的抗性中的功能。结果表明，与饲喂对照植物（野生型）的斜纹夜蛾幼虫相比，饲喂转基因植物系的斜纹夜蛾幼虫的重量从 28% 显着降低至 76%，转基因植物系 KLine12 的重量显着降低将斜纹夜蛾的存活率降低了 62.5%。与饲喂对照植物的无翅蚜相比，饲喂转基因植物系的无翅蚜的菌落生长从 22.5% 显着降低至 63.4%。与对照植物相比，转基因植物系将蚜虫的存活率从 46% 显着降低到 55%。这些结果首先表明 BrERF11b 基因显着增强了植物对斜纹夜蛾和桃蚜的抗性。