Field testing, gene flow assessment and pre-commercial studies on transgenic Solanum tuberosum spp. tuberosum (cv. Spunta) selected for PVY resistance in Argentina.
Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum (cv. Spunta) was transformed with a chimeric transgene containing the Potato virus Y (PVY) coat protein (CP) sequence. Screening for PVY resistance under greenhouse conditions yielded over 100 independent candidate lines. Successive field testing of selected lines allowed the identification of two genetically stable PVY-resistant lines, SY230 and SY233, which were further evaluated in field trials at different potato-producing regions in Argentina. In total, more than 2,000 individuals from each line were tested along a 6-year period. While no or negligible PVY infection was observed in the transgenic lines, infection rates of control plants were consistently high and reached levels of up to 70-80%. Parallel field studies were performed in virus-free environments to assess the agronomical performance of the selected lines. Tubers collected from these assays exhibited agronomical traits and biochemical compositions indistinguishable from those of the non-transformed Spunta cultivar. In addition, an interspecific out-crossing trial to determine the magnitude of possible natural gene flow between transgenic line SY233 and its wild relative Solanum                         chacoense was performed. This trial yielded negative results, suggesting an extremely low probability for such an event to occur.
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular (CONICET), Vuelta de Obligado 2490 (C1428ADN), Buenos Aires, Argentina. fbravo@dna.uba.ar
Fernando
F
Bravo-Almonacid
Valeria
V
Rudoy
Bjorn
B
Welin
María Eugenia
ME
Segretin
María Cecilia
MC
Bedogni
Fabiana
F
Stolowicz
Marcelo
M
Criscuolo
Marcelo
M
Foti
Maximiliano
M
Gomez
Mariana
M
López
Germán
G
Serino
Silvia
S
Cabral
Cristina
C
Dos Santos
Marcelo
M
Huarte
Alejandro
A
Mentaberry
D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001118:Argentina; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D060467:Disease Resistance; D051456:Gene Flow; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D017800:Potyvirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012991:Solanaceous Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D014170:Transformation, Genetic; D019076:Transgenes
D036022:Capsid Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012991:Solanaceous Alkaloids; C090960:coat protein, Potato virus Y