Transgenic potato plants expressing soybean beta-1,3-endoglucanase gene exhibit an increased resistance to Phytophthora infestans.

Soybean beta-1,3-endoglucanase represents a model system for studies on early plant responses to infection by fungal pathogens, and it has been implicated in the release of elicitors from fungal cell walls. In the present study, potato plants were transformed with the soybean beta-1,3-endoglucanase cDNA via Agrobacterium delivery system. The transfer of the gene into potato genome was confirmed by (i) PCR amplification, (ii) Northern blot analyses, and (iii) an increase in the activity of beta-1,3-endoglucanase in transgenic plants. The transformation resulted in an increased resistance of selected transgenic plants to infection by Phytophthora infestans, an important pathogen.