GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED RESISTANCE TO POTATO-VIRUS X IN 4 COMMERCIAL POTATO CULTIVARS

The genes for the capsid protein (CP) and the 8K movement protein of PVX were introduced into potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and expressed under the control of CaMV 35S promoter using a binary vector and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Four commercial potato cultivars (Russet Burbank, Shepody, Desiree and Bintje) have been efficiently transformed. Eleven independent transgenic clones, with CP expression levels higher than 0.05% of the soluble leaf proteins, were analyzed for resistance to inoculation with PVX (5 and 50 mu g/ml). The resistance of the transgenic plants to PVX was observed with the lower titer of virus inoculation (5 mu g/ml) but not with higher titer (50 mu g/ml). A significant reduction in the accumulation of virus in the inoculated transgenic potato plants has been observed under greenhouse and field conditions. Furthermore, the CP gene is very stable and is transferred to new plants originated from stem cuttings or from tubers. The transgenic plants appeared to be phenotypically identical to the nontransformed controls.