Transgenic Nicotiana Benthamiana and grapevine plants transformed with grapevine virus a (GVA) sequences.

As part of a project to construct virus-resistant transgenic grapevines, grapevine virus A (GVA) coat protein (CP) sequences were introduced into grapevine and the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. The engineered constructs were tested for their ability to engender resistance in N. benthamiana. A number of GVA-CP-transformed N. benthamiana lines have become resistant to GVA. Preliminary biological and molecular analyses strongly suggest that in most cases the obtained resistance is RNA-mediated. Several lines of transgenic grapevine were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]