TRANSFORMATION OF STRAWBERRY FOR VIRUS RESISTANCE

Strawberry plants have been transformed with the coat protein gene from strawberry mild yellow edge potexvirus to confer resistance to the associated disease. Highly efficient regeneration systems were developed for two varieties commonly grown in British Columbia, Canada. Antibiotics required for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation were selected to optimize regeneration and subsequent plantlet growth. Putative transformed shoots were selected on media containing kanamycin 7 to 10 days after co-cultivation. Shoots which then rooted on kanamycin-containing medium were propagated and tested. PCR analysis and Southern hybridization were used to show that the gene was incorporated and ELISA was used to show that the gene was expressed. Plantlets have been transferred to soil and challenge experiments are underway.