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Submitted to: American Peanut Research and Education Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2002 Publication Date: 12/15/2002 Citation: CHENAULT, K.D. FIELD TESTING OF TRANSGENIC PEANUT LINES FOR RESISTANCE TO SCLEROTINIA MINOR. AMERICAN PEANUT RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SOCIETY ABSTRACTS. p. 66. 2002. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Fungal diseases of peanut, such as Sclerotinia blight caused by Sclerotinia minor, are responsible for increased production costs and yield losses of up to 50% for peanut producers in the Southwest, North Carolina, and Virginia. Traditional breeding practices have produced few cultivars with moderate disease resistance. Introduction of anti-fungal genes into peanut germplasm through genetic engineering offers an alternative method of control of Sclerotinia blight and other fungal diseases. Transgenic peanut plant lines containing anti-fungal genes have been produced from somatic embryos of the susceptible cultivar Okrun and have been tested for S. minor resistance under greenhouse conditions. This study reports the results from field trials in which these transgenic peanut lines were subjected to high disease pressure with no application of fungicide for S. minor control. Most of the transgenic peanut lines tested (72%) demonstrated increased resistance to S. minor infection when compared to susceptible Okrun controls. Four transgenic peanut lines demonstrated levels of resistance >50% of that reported for susceptible controls. Performance of these transgenic peanut lines indicates there is great potential for the use of genetic engineering to control Sclerotinia blight incidence without pesticide use. |
