Biotech Updates

API5 Enhances Virus Resistance in Potatoes

May 18, 2022

Researcher from Tarbiat Modares University in Iran conducted a study to determine the role of StAPI5 in potato virus resistance. The results are published in BMC Plant Biology.

In a previous study, the researchers presented a list of vital candidate genes linked to potato plants' defense response to viruses that are highly expressed in resistant varieties. One of the candidate genes was Aspartic Protease Inhibitor 5 (API5), which is a critical host regulatory component of plant defense responses against pathogens. Thus, the researchers transformed potato plants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens to encode the potato StAPI5 gene.

Results showed that transgenic plants overexpressing StAPI5 had comparable virus resistance to non-transgenic control plants, demonstrating that StAPI5 plays a role in gene regulation during virus resistance.

Read more findings in BMC Plant Biology.


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