ISHS Acta Horticulturae 590: IX International Workshop on Fire Blight
PLANT TRANSFORMATION FOR INDUCTION OF FIRE BLIGHT RESISTANCE: TRANSGENIC APPLES EXPRESSING VIRAL EPS-DEPOLYMERASE |
| Authors: | V. Hanke, W.-S. Kim, K. Geider |
| Keywords: | Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Erwinia amylovora, genetic engineering |
| Abstract:
The acidic exopolysaccharide amylovoran is a major virulence factor for Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight in the Rosaceae family. The bacterial EPS-capsules modulate pathogen recognition by plant defense mechanisms. Bacteriophages, associated with the pathogen, can carry coat-proteins, such as EPS-depolymerases, which bind to the capsules and degrade the bacterial EPS. The depolymerase gene has been cloned from the phage DNA and was inserted into several vectors for plant transformation. The apple cultivar 'Pinova' was transformed with various Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains, carrying the depolymerase gene on a plasmid. After selection of leaf disks with kanamycin and regeneration of plantlets, 83 different transgenic lines were obtained. The integration of the transgene, transcription and translation were evaluated using various molecular approaches. Fire blight resistance was evaluated applying an in vitro assay based on infection with a gfp-labelled E. amylovora strain. Plantlets from the transgenic line were transferred to a greenhouse for fire blight assays with artificial shoot inoculation. | |
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