EXPRESSION OF A PEA DISEASE RESISTANCE RESPONSE GENE IN THE POTATO CULTIVAR SHEPODY

The coding sequence from the pea disease resistance response gene 49 ( DRR49 gene), was transferred into the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cu ltivar Shepody via Agrobacterium co-cultivation. Potato leaf explants were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens harboring a binary v ector containing the coding sequence from the DRR49 gene under the con trol of the 35S promoter from cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV). Transfo rmed potato plants were selected by their resistance to kanamycin. The insertion of foreign DNAs was detected by polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) and Southern blot analysis. The expression of DRR49 coding sequen ce was confirmed via the detection of the corresponding mRNA in northe rn blot analysis. Field pathogenicity tests indicated that transgenic plants expressing the pea DRR49 mRNA have higher tuber yields than the control plants when grown in PED (potato early dying) infested soil.