J.R. Simplot Company has sequenced the genes in wild potatoes that are associated with PVY resistance. Some wild potato species have resistance to PVY; however, varieties with transferred resistance from wild species are not yet commercially available.
A new eIF4E-1 variant coded as Eva1 was found in Solanum chacoense, S. demissum and S. etuberosum. The researchers found that the protein exhibits amino acid substitutions at 10 different locations when compared with the cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum) homolog.
The researchers overexpressed the associated cDNA which conferred PVY resistance in transgenic potato plants silenced for the native eIF4E-1. Since the gene sources of Eva1 are sexually compatible with potato, molecular strategies can be employed to produce intragenic potato cultivars.
SOURCE: Spud Smart
http://spudsmart.com/news.html#nov29jr