Novartis Finance Corporation

Novartis Ag

Henry-York Steiner

Scott Joseph Uknes

John A Ryals

Terrence Patrick Delaney

Eric R Ward

Kay A Lawton

Eric Russell Ward

Klaus Maleck

Kristianna Baldwin Weymann

Michelle Denise Hunt

Methods are provided for selecting parental plants exhibiting disease resistance and for using these plants in breeding programs. In one method of the invention, constitutive immunity (cim) mutants are screened for either resistance to a pathogen of interest or for the expression of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) genes. Such mutants having the desired traits or expressing the desired genes are then used in breeding programs. Parent plants can also be selected based on the constitutive expression of SAR genes. These mutants are phenotypically normal yet exhibit a significant level of disease resistance. Also disclosed are lesion-simulating-disease (lsd) mutants having a lesion mimic phenotype that also express SAR genes and exhibit disease resistance. Further disclosed are non-inducible immunity (nim) mutants that do not express SAR genes, even when induced by a pathogen. Methods of use for these mutants are also disclosed.

Method for breeding disease resistance into plants

The NIM1 gene product is a structural homologue of the mammalian signal transduction factor I.kappa.B subclass .alpha.. The present invention exploits this discovery to provide altered forms of NIM1 that act as dominant-negative regulators of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) signal transduction pathway. These altered forms of NIM1 confer the opposite phenotype as the nim1 mutant in plants transformed with the altered forms of NIM1; i.e., the transgenic plants exhibit constitutive SAR gene expression and a constitutive immunity (CIM) phenotype. The present invention further concerns DNA molecules encoding altered forms of the NIM1 gene, expression vectors containing such DNA molecules, and plants and plant cells transformed therewith. The invention also concerns methods of activating SAR in plants and conferring to plants a CIM phenotype and broad spectrum disease resistance by transforming the plants with DNA molecules encoding altered forms of the NIM1 gene product.

Altered forms of the NIM1 gene conferring disease resistance in plants

Methods are provided for selecting parental plants having disease resistance and for using these plants in breeding programs. In one method of the invention, lesion mimic mutants are screened for either resistance to a pathogen of interest or for the expression of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) genes. Such mutants having the desired traits or expressing the desired genes are then used in breeding programs. Parent plants can also be selected based on the constitutive expression of SAR genes. These mutants are phenotypically normal yet exhibit a significant level of disease resistance. Also disclosed are plant mutants that do not express systemic acquired resistance genes even when induced by a pathogen and methods of use for such mutants.

Method for breeding disease resisteance into plants

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Apex, NC, United States of America

Henry-York Steiner