Generation of hermaphrodite transgenic papaya lines with virus resistance via transformation of somatic embryos derived from adventitious roots of in vitro shoots.

Papaya production is seriously limited by Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) worldwide and Papaya leaf-distortion mosaic virus (PLDMV) in Eastern Asia. An efficient transformation method for developing papaya lines with transgenic resistance to these viruses and commercially desirable traits, such as hermaphroditism, is crucial to shorten the breeding program for this fruit crop. In this investigation, an untranslatable chimeric construct pYP08 containing truncated PRSV coat protein (CP) and PLDMV CP genes coupled with the 3' untranslational region of PLDMV, was generated.

Generation of transgenic oriental melon resistant to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus by an improved cotyledon-cutting method.

Production of melon (Cucumis melo L.) worldwide is often limited by the potyvirus, Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV). In order to engineer melon lines resistant to ZYMV, a construct containing the translatable coat protein (CP) sequence coupled with the 3' non-translatable region of the virus was generated and used to transform an elite cultivar of oriental melon (Silver light) mediated by Agrobacterium using an improved cotyledon-cutting method.