Anticipatory molecular breeding for bacterial spot disease resistance in tomato

• Applicant: Dr. Christina Bormann Chung
• Subject Area: Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology
• Term: from 2004 to 2007
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5436336

Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv), the causal agent of bacterial spot disease of pepper and tomato, continues to be a serious disease problem in areas that are warm and humid with frequent rainfall. The disease problem is especially acute with regards to tomato, as there are limited genetic options available for the effective deployment of host resistance to the vast majority of Xcn strains capable. Nevertheless, transgenic tomato plants containing the Bs2 gene, which originates from wild pepper species, show a resistance response to all known tomato races of Xcv, as they contain the avrBs2 effector gene. This research project aims to predict the durability of the Bs2 gene in transgenic tomato. To achieve this goal, mutants from Xcv strains will be isolated that can cause disease symptoms on the previously resistant Bs2 transgenic tomato lines. The characterizid mutant AvrBs2 alleles will then be used to screen for altered Bs2 genes, which can now recognize the new mutant AvrBs2 alleles. In this manner, a more durable resistance in tomato can be achieved by being one step ahead of the pathogen. In a second approach the reconstitution of the Bs2 disease resistance pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana will be analyzed by introducing the Bs2 gene and other disease resistance factors from Solanaceous plants into Arabidopsis and reconstruct the specific resistance reaction.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA