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Title: GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF PEAR CULTIVAR 'OLD HOME' AND REGENERATION OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS FOR POTENTIAL DISEASE RESISTANCE

Author
item SUN, QINGRONG - PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA
item WEI, WEI - PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA
item Hammond, Rosemarie
item Davis, Robert
item Zhao, Yan

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Potomac Division Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2006
Publication Date: 3/15/2006
Citation: Sun, Q., Wei, W., Hammond, R., Davis, R.E., Zhao, Y. 2006. Genetic transformation of pear cultivar 'old home' and regeneration of transgenic plants for potential disease resistance. American Phytopathological Society Potomac Division Meeting. 96:S191-192.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Pear (Pyrus communis L.) is a nutrient-dense fruit with strong consumer demand and high commercial value. However, most cultivated pear varieties are often susceptible to diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Since pear is highly heterozygotic and has a long juvenile period, conventional breeding for disease resistance is difficult. With the recent advances in molecular biology, artificially engineered resistance has become a new approach to plant disease control. Such genetic engineering requires transformation of parent tissues to introduce foreign genes and subsequent regeneration of transgenic plants with desired characters. Major factors that influence transformation and regeneration of pear cultivars were examined, and optimal conditions were established for efficient transformation and regeneration from leaves of a popular pear cultivar, ‘Old Home’. High transformation efficiency was achieved due to an improved induction stage following initial Agrobacterium infection. In the induction stage, Agrobacterium cells and parent leaf segments were co-cultivated on a liquid induction medium, which yielded a five-fold increase of transformation frequency over conventional co-cultivation on a solid medium. Transgenic shoots were regenerated from transformed cells via an indirect regeneration pathway, which involves a callus proliferation / shoot primordium induction phase and a shoot elongation phase using different hormone combinations. With the new protocol, independent transgenic pear lines carrying antimicrobial peptide genes were regenerated. The transgenic pear plants are being analyzed for foreign gene expression and for their potential disease resistance.