Induction of Resistance to Potato Virus Y (PVY) Using Hairpin Construct of Coat Protein

Potato virus Y (PVY) is one of the most damaging viruses of potato plants which infecting most cultivars and causing significant yield and economical losses. The application of the concept of pathogen derived resistance opened new horizons for the development of virus-resistant plants. This research was carried out to study RNA silencing to engineered potato plants that are resistant to potato virus Y (PVY). RNAi construct was designed from coat protein (cp) segment of virus RNA. Potato explants were transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens AGL1 with pCAMRNAiCP containing bar gene. The rate of regenerated plants and gene transformation were evaluated. Results showed that 42 percent of regenerated plants were transformed. The expression of CP hairpin construct was determined by RT-PCR analysis. PVY resistance bioassay showed that 82 percent of transgenic potato were resistance to PVY.