Higher copy numbers of the potato RB transgene correspond to enhanced transcript and late blight resistance levels.

Late blight of potato ranks among the costliest of crop diseases worldwide. Host resistance offers the best means for controlling late blight, but previously deployed single resistance genes have been short-lived in their effectiveness. The foliar blight resistance gene RB, previously cloned from the wild potato Solanum bulbocastanum, has proven effective in greenhouse tests of transgenic cultivated potato.

Performance of Transgenic Potato Containing the Late Blight Resistance Gene RB.

Late blight of potato, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is one of the most devastating diseases of potato. A major late blight resistance gene, called RB, previously was identified in the wild potato species Solanum bulbocastanum through map-based cloning. The full-length gene coding sequence, including the open reading frame and promoter, has been integrated into cultivated potato (S.