Plant & Animal Genome IX Conference

Workshop: Forage & Turfgrass
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DISSECTION OF HOMOLOGY-DEPENDENT VIRUS RESISTANCE IN FERTILE TRANSGENIC PERENNIAL RYEGRASS (LOLIUM PERENNE L.) PLANTS

¹ Institut fuer Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung Gatersleben, AG Gentransfer, IPK Gatersleben, Corrensstr. 3, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany, correspondence to altpeter@ipk-gatersleben.de

² Landessaatzuchtanstalt, AG Futterpflanzen, Fruwirthstr. 21, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

³ Bundesanstalt fuer Zuechtungsforschung an Kulturpflanzen, Institut fuer Resistenzforschung, Theodor-Roemerweg 4, 06449 Aschersleben, Germany

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is the most important grass species in areas with temperate climate. Ryegrass mosaik virus is a serious yield constraint in perennial ryegrass, drawing attention to RNA-mediated virus resistance strategies. Biolistic gene transfer followed by a modified selection protocol resulted in the rapid and efficient production of fertile transgenic perennial ryegrass plants. Integration of selectable marker gene and coat protein gene of ryegrass mosaik virus were confirmed by PCR in 25 transgenic perennial ryegrass lines. Southern blot confirmed the independent nature of the transgenic lines with the number of integrated transgene copies ranging from two to six in the majority of lines. Fully fertile transgenic ryegrass plants transmitted the transgenes through pollen and zygote. Virus resistance of primary transformants and sexual progeny is discussed in the context of transgene integration pattern and posttranscriptional gene silencing.