Production of transgenic soybean lines expressing the bean pod mottle virus coat protein precursor gene

Soybean (Glycine max. Merrill. cv. Fayette) cotyledonary nodes were transformed with bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) coat protein precursor (CP-P) gene via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The transformation rate was low, and only five primary transformants derived from five different cotyledons were obtained from 400 original cotyledons. Southern blot hybridization verified the integration of the BPMV CP-P gene. Inheritance and expression of this gene in R1 plants were also demonstrated. About 30% of R2 plants derived from one transgenic line showed complete resistance to BPMV infection, as assessed by symptomatology and ELISA, suggesting that homozygous, but not hemizygous, plants exhibit the resistant phenotype.