Genetically modified coffee trees resistant to the coffee leaf miner, Perileucoptera coffeella

A synthetic version of the Bacillus thuringiensis cry1Ac gene was used in transformation of coffee species (Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica) to confer resistance to an important pest in South America and East Africa, the coffee leaf miner (Perileucoptera coffeella and other Leucoptera spp.). Somatic embryos were co-cultivated with the LBA4404 strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the synthetic cry1Ac gene, the csr1-1 gene conferring resistance to a herbicide used as a selective agent, and the uidA gene. More than 100 transformed plants from independent transformation events have been obtained for each coffee genotype. The expression of the cry1Ac gene was assessed by western blot analyses, and effective resistance of transgenic plants against leaf miner was verified by bioassays with insects. Correct integration of the genes was analysed. Agronomic conformity of the transgenic plants will be evaluated in field planting in French Guyana, and a suitable insect management program will be implemented. These plants could represent a good opportunity to observe gene expression in a perennial crop and the management of resistance against an endocarpic insect with a protein from B. thuringiensis. (Texte integral)