Expression of a cucumber class III chitinase and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia class I glucanase genes in transgenic potato plants

The genes encoding for a cucumber class III chitinase and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia class I glucanase were co-introduced into Slovak potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding line 116/86 using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. For both transgenes the number of integrated copies and level of RNA expression were determined. These analyses demonstrated low variation and significant correlation in expression of the introduced transgenes. The effect of transgene expression on fungal susceptibility of transformants was evaluated in vitro. Hyphal extension assays revealed no obvious differences in the ability of extracts from transformants to inhibit growth of Rhizoctonia solani comparing to non-transformed potato.