Field Performance of Resistant Potato Genotypes Transformed with the EFR Receptor from Arabidopsis thaliana in the Absence of Bacterial Wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum)

Abstract

Bacterial wilt caused by the pathogen Ralstonia so-lanacearum is a devastating disease of potato crops. Harmonizing immunity to pathogens and crop yield is a balance between productive, economic, and environ-mental interests. In this work, the agronomic performance of two events of potato cultivar INIA Iporá ex-pressing the Arabidopsis thaliana EFR gene (Iporá EFR 3 and Iporá EFR 12) previously selected for their high resistance to bacterial wilt was evaluated under patho-gen-free conditions. During two cultivation cycles, the evaluated phenotypic characteristics were emergence, beginning of flowering, vigor, growth, leaf morphol-ogy, yield, number and size of tubers, analyzed under biosecurity standards. The phenotypic characteristics evaluated did not show differences, except in the mor-phology of the leaf with a more globose appearance and a shortening of the rachis in the transformation events with respect to untransformed Iporá. The Iporá EFR 3 genotype showed a ~40% yield decrease in reference to untransformed Iporá in the two trials, while Iporá EFR 12 did not differ statistically from untransformed Iporá. Iporá EFR 12 shows performance stability in the absence of the pathogen, compared to the untransformed control, positioning it as an interesting candidate for regions where the presence of the pathogen is endemic and bacterial wilt has a high economic impact.