Heterologous Expression of the Bean Chitinase Gene (ch5B) in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Confers Enhanced Tolerance to Rhizoctonia solani and Demonstrates Agronomic Substantial Equivalence in Field Trials
Fungal pathogens cause severe yield losses in lettuce production worldwide. We developed transgenic lettuce lines overexpressing the ch5B chitinase gene from Phaseolus vulgaris (bean) under the regulation of the rbcS1 (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit) promoter. Molecular characterization confirmed s...