Methods for Transient Gene Expression in Wild Relatives of Potato

Genomics studies in potato and other plants have elucidated a large number of genes involved in a wide array of phenotypes. In particular, recent bioinformatic and genomic analyses of oomycetes and fungi have identified many effectors for which the corresponding host resistance-eliciting receptor remains to be found. Functional testing of host resistance gene candidates can be accomplished by generating whole plant transformants to either overexpress or silence these genes to obtain a visible phenotype. However, this is time consuming. Alternatively, Agrobacterium tumefaciens can be used to transiently express genes in plant tissue to observe phenotypic changes. Wild relatives of potato contain a large amount of genotypic diversity and are an excellent tool to identify important agronomic traits, including resistance to diseases. The methods presented here help to facilitate the screening of wild potato accessions using agroinfiltration.