Potyvirus resistance in potato

Abstract

The present invention is drawn to novel genes from wild plants, such as wild potato and pepper plants, that confer potyvirus resistance to plants, such as in transformed cultivated plants. Also encompassed are cultivated plants transformed with the novel gene, food products made from the transformed cultivated plants, and methods for making such plants and food products.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for conferring PVY resistance to a  Solanum tuberosum  plant, said method comprising:
 (A) transforming the  Solanum tuberosum  plant with a construct comprising a polynucleotide encoding an N-terminal-truncated fragment of a full-length eIF4E polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, and SEQ ID NO:32; and   (B) expressing said polynucleotide in a cell of the plant;   
       wherein said transformed  Solanum tuberosum  plant is resistant to PVY infection. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the N-terminal-truncated fragment encoded by the polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 20, and SEQ ID NO: 21. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the N-terminal-truncated fragment encoded by the polynucleotide is SEQ ID NO: 16. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the  Solanum tuberosum  plant possesses one or more additional traits selected from the group consisting of: (i) low reducing sugar, (ii) low free asparagine, (iii) low bruising, (iv) reduced cold-induced sweetening, (v) low acrylamide, (vi) resistance to  Phytophthora , (vii) reduced starch phosphate level, and (viii) increased antioxidant. 
     
     
         5 . A  Solanum tuberosum  plant, plant part, plant cell, or plant tissue culture comprising a polynucleotide encoding an N-terminal-truncated fragment of a full-length eIF4E polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO:32, wherein said  Solanum tuberosum  plant, or a plant produced from said plant part, plant cell, or plant tissue culture, expresses said polynucleotide and is resistant to PVY infection. 
     
     
         6 . The  Solanum tuberosum  plant, plant part, plant cell, or plant tissue culture of  claim 5 , wherein the N-terminal-truncated fragment encoded by the polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 20, and SEQ ID NO: 21. 
     
     
         7 . The  Solanum tuberosum  plant, plant part, plant cell, or plant tissue culture of  claim 6 , wherein the N-terminal-truncated fragment encoded by the polynucleotide is SEQ ID NO: 16. 
     
     
         8 . The  Solanum tuberosum  plant of  claim 5 , wherein the plant possesses one or more additional traits selected from the group consisting of: (i) low reducing sugar, (ii) low free asparagine, (iii) low bruising, (iv) reduced cold-induced sweetening, (v) low acrylamide, (vi) resistance to  Phytophthora , (vii) reduced starch phosphate level, and (viii) increased antioxidant. 
     
     
         9 . A progeny plant of the  Solanum tuberosum  plant of  claim 5 , wherein the progeny  Solanum tuberosum  plant is resistant to PVY as a result of inheriting the nucleic acid encoding the N-terminal-truncated eIF4E fragment. 
     
     
         10 . A DNA construct comprising a polynucleotide encoding an N-terminal-truncated fragment of an eIF4E polypeptide, wherein the N-terminal-truncated fragment encoded by the polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 20, and SEQ ID NO: 21. 
     
     
         11 . The DNA construct of  claim 10 , wherein the N-terminal-truncated fragment encoded by the polynucleotide is SEQ ID NO: 16.