PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Tomato suffers from numerous diseases primarily caused by fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. Nematodes are identified as a highly lethal infectious agent that results in significant yield reductions. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are major factors causing significant global spread, resulting in a 42% yearly yield loss in tomato plants. Present management of root-knot nematodes is inadequate and requires enhancement through the integration of multiple pest control strategies. The work aimed at the molecular isolation of the tomato ‘Nucleotide Binding Site-Leucine Rich Repeat (NBS-LRR)’ region of Mi gene, which confers resistance to root-knot nematodes, a group of widespread plant pathogens. The present investigation was carried out at the Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology, Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory and in collaboration with the Department of Nematology, B. A. College of Agriculture, Anand Agricultural University, Anand. Mi gene confers resistance to root-knot nematodes. Developing transgenic plants is an effective approach for improving tolerance to biotic stresses. To address these issues, the study isolated the NBS-LRR related sequence of Migene from nematode-resistant tomato cultivarSL-120 by a direct gene isolation method, designing and validating Mi gene-specific primers in resistant tomato cultivars using various software and Agrobacterium mediated transformation of Mi gene in susceptible tomato cultivars. Besides its practical implications, the isolation of the disease resistance locus is expected to shed light on the nature of host resistance and to provide material for molecular studies.