Genetically engineered immunity to Papaya ringspot virus in Australian papaya cultivars

Abstract

Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), which has recently been identified inAustralia, is the major limiting factor in papaya production worldwide. In thispaper we report the development of two Australian papaya cultivars that areimmune to infection with PRSV. Papaya somatic embryos were transformed viamicroprojectile bombardment using a construct containing an untranslatable PRSVcoat protein coding region. Immunity was demonstrated by repeated inoculationinthe glasshouse and eighteen months in the field. The immune lines were shown tohave up to five copies of the transgene by Southern hybridisation. Northernhybridisation showed that the coat protein transcript in the immune linesappeared to be degraded; therefore, the mechanism of resistance appears to bepost transcriptional gene silencing via RNA degradation. We have taken aproactive approach to control of PRSV in Australia by developing geneticallyengineered resistance before the Australian papaya industry has been decimatedby the inevitable spread of PRSV.