Variability in the response to Pseudomonas solanacearum of transgenic lines of potato carrying a cecropin gene analogue

Transgenic potato plants of cv. Désire’e carrying an antibacterial gene. coding for a cecropin lytic peptide analogue were inoculated with a virulent strain of Pseudomonus solanacearum under controlled conditions. The disease index scored during three repeated infection trials indicated an increased variability in plant response among the transgenic lines which gave either a more susceptible or a more resistant response to the pathogen when compared with untransformed Desiree. Immunity to P. solanacearum was not observed, but it was possible to select a group of transgenic lines that showed resistance levels and disease development curves comparable to the field resistant cv. Cruza 148.