Scientists Develop Soft-Rot Resistant Potatoes

By introducing a synthetic gene that codes for maiginin 2, researchers at the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd developed potato plants resistant to Erwinia carotovora. The soil dwelling microbe causes the dreaded soft rot disease in potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables, and infections often result in a complete crop loss.

The soft-rot resistant potato plants that the New Zealand scientists developed express a synthetic maiginin 2 gene. First identified in frog skin, maiginin peptides are selectively toxic to microbes and not mammalian cells. Several studies have also shown that the peptide has a broad activity against numerous phytopathogens, including some fungi and the bacterial agents that cause common scab and blackleg.

In engineering the maiginin gene, the researchers made several mutations to reduce the peptide's susceptibility to proteolytic cleavage and increase its activity against prokaryotes. The transgenic potato lines were tested for three planting seasons. The soft-rot resistant potatoes were found to be similar to conventional potato varieties in terms of yield and other agronomic performance criteria.

The article published by the Open Plant Science Journal is available for free at http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874294700903010014