Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #144374
Title: GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF A RUNNER-TYPE PEANUT WITH THE NUCLEOCAPSID GENE OF TOMATO SPOTTED WILT VIRUS

Author
item Chamberlin, Kelly
item PAYTON, M - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Peanut Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2004
Publication Date: 6/1/2005
Citation: Chenault, K.D., Payton, M.E. 2003. Genetic transformation of a runner-type peanut with the nucleocapsid gene of tomato spotted wilt virus. Peanut Science. 30(2):112-115.

Interpretive Summary: Cultivated peanut is an important commercial crop world wide. Unfortunately there are many types of diseases to which peanut is susceptible. These diseases include those caused by insects, fungi, and viruses. Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is the most prominent virus infecting peanut and has caused catastrophic yield losses in the southeastern U.S. Control of TSWV infection is extremely difficult due to the fact that it is spread by thrips, which are insects randomly dispersed by wind currents. Although more prominent in the southeastern U.S., reports of TSWV infection in the southwest have been increasing, with recent reports of virus spread into northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. Traditional breeding and genetic engineering have focused on the production of a peanut cultivar with TSWV tolerance that is suitable for production in the southeastern U.S. The introduction of a virus coat protein into the DNA of a plant host has been shown to provide protection from that virus. This study reports the successful production of a runner-type peanut commonly grown in the southwestern U.S. that contains the coat protein of TSWV. Future studies on the peanut lines produced in this study will determine their utility for controlling TSWV infection in the southwest U.S.

Technical Abstract: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) lines containing the nucleocapsid protein (N) gene of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) were generated via microprojectile bombardment of somatic embryos from the cultivar Okrun, a runner-type peanut primarily grown in the southwestern U.S. The gene for hygromycin resistance, hph, was included on the plasmid containing the N gene as a selectable marker. PCR and ELISA results indicated that 8 of 10 primary transformant lines were positive for incorporation and expression of the TSWV N transgene. PCR and ELISA analyses of T1 progeny indicated that 2 of the 8 transgenic lines demonstrated a 3:1 segregation ratio, indicative of incorporation of a single copy of the TSWV N transgene. Transgene expression levels remained constant through the T1 generation.