Silencing of six susceptibility genes results in potato late blight resistance

• Published in: Transgenic research 2016-10, Vol.25 (5), p.731-742
• Main Authors: Sun, Kaile, Wolters, Anne-Marie A., Vossen, Jack H., Rouwet, Maarten E., Loonen, Annelies E. H. M., Jacobsen, Evert, Visser, Richard G. F., Bai, Yuling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Genetics and Genomics; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis thaliana; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Breeding; cultivars; Disease Resistance - genetics; dominant genes; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene Silencing; Genetic Engineering; Late blight; Life Sciences; loss-of-function mutation; Molecular Medicine; mutants; Original Paper; pathogens; Phytophthora infestans; Phytophthora infestans - pathogenicity; Plant Diseases - genetics; Plant Diseases - parasitology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; plant protection; Plant Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - growth & development; Potato; potatoes; Resistance; RNAi; Solanum tuberosum; Solanum tuberosum - genetics; Solanum tuberosum - growth & development; Solanum tuberosum - parasitology; Susceptibility gene; Transgenics; virulent strains
• ISSN: 0962-8819; 1573-9368
• DOI: 10.1007/s11248-016-9964-2

Phytophthora infestans , the causal agent of late blight, is a major threat to commercial potato production worldwide. Significant costs are required for crop protection to secure yield. Many dominant genes for resistance ( R -genes) to potato late blight have been identified, and some of these R -genes have been applied in potato breeding. However, the P. infestans population rapidly accumulates new virulent strains that render R -genes ineffective. Here we introduce a new class of resistance which is based on the loss-of-function of a susceptibility gene ( S -gene) encoding a product exploited by pathogens during infection and colonization. Impaired S -genes primarily result in recessive resistance traits in contrast to recognition-based resistance that is governed by dominant R -genes. In Arabidopsis thaliana , many S -genes have been detected in screens of mutant populations. In the present study, we selected 11 A. thaliana S -genes and silenced orthologous genes in the potato cultivar Desiree, which is highly susceptible to late blight. The silencing of five genes resulted in complete resistance to the P. infestans isolate Pic99189, and the silencing of a sixth S -gene resulted in reduced susceptibility. The application of S -genes to potato breeding for resistance to late blight is further discussed.