Compositions and methods for protecting a plant from a pathogen,
particularly a fungal pathogen, are provided. Compositions include amino
acid sequences, and variants and fragments thereof, for antipathogenic
polypeptides that were isolated from fungal fermentation broths. Nucleic
acids that encode the antipathogenic polypeptides are also provided. A
method for inducing pathogen resistance in a plant using the nucleotide
sequences disclosed herein is further provided. The method comprises
introducing into a plant an expression cassette comprising a promoter
operably linked to a nucleotide sequence that encodes an antipathogenic
polypeptide of the invention. Compositions comprising an antipathogenic
polypeptide or a transformed microorganism comprising a nucleic acid of
the invention in combination with a carrier and methods of using these
compositions to protect a plant from a pathogen are further provided.
Transformed plants, plant cells, seeds, and microorganisms comprising a
nucleotide sequence that encodes an antipathogenic polypeptide of the
invention are also disclosed.