Transformation of Fuji apple plant harboring the coat protein gene of cucumber mosaic virus

Abstract

Transformation of Fuji apple (Malus domestica 'Fuji') was performed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens harboring a coat protein (CP) gene of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). A plasmid DNA containing the virus CP and NPT II genes was introduced into the leaves of apple by the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation procedure. Regenerated transformants of the apple were obtained by kanamycin resistance conferred by the introduced NPT II gene. PCR analysis showed that 3 out of 20 putatively selected R0 plant lines contain the CMV-CP gene. Nine putative transgenic lines out of 20 lines were investigated with the PCR analysis; 5 regenerants produced a 450 bp DNA band and 3 regenerants showed a 671 bp DNA band for the NPT II and CMV-CP genes, respectively. Southern hybridization results demonstrate the successful integration of the CMV-CP gene into the genome of the apple. This is the first report on the generation of useful virus resistance source of transgenic apple for molecular breeding program.