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A singular gene doubles up pest resistance

Nature Biotechnology volume 16, pages 1315–1316 (1998)Cite this article

Nematodes and aphids are among the more severe enemies attacking crop plants in the field, and during their evolution plants have developed refined strategies to resist these attacks. An exciting article in this issue1 joins two recent publications from Valerie Williamson's group at the University of California, Davis2,3 in describing the cloning of a plant gene that confers resistance to these totally unrelated pests.

The gene suddenly in the spotlight, Mi-1, had been introgressed into cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) from a wild relative L. peruvianum and successfully used in tomato breeding for a long time. It is an example of a durable resistance against the tomato root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and to related nematode species that cause considerable loss in tomato growing. They invade the root and feed from multinucleate giant cells developed by the expansion of cambial cells within the differentiating vascular cylinder.

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Figure 1: Double the protection: Mi-1 confers resistance to both aphids and nematodes.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. professor, Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, Kiel, D-24118, Germany

    Christian Jung

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  1. Christian Jung
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Jung, C. A singular gene doubles up pest resistance. Nat Biotechnol 16, 1315–1316 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/4278

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