Salt tolerance of genetic modified potato (Solanum tuberosum) cv. Agria by expression of a bacterial mtlD gene

Water and salinity stresses are the major reasons to yield decreasing in the world. Potato is the world’s main tuber crops of the Solanaceae family which is one of the most economically important annual vegetable crop. The goal of this investigation was creation genetic modified potato cv. Agria with more tolerance to salinity stress and evaluating GMO potato properties. To create transgenic potato plant, mtlD gene (mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, E.C.1.1.1.17) was expressed to potato cv. Agria plant by using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Transgenic potato was produced by transforming of mtlD gene to potato plant cv. Agria. Existence of recombinant gene in transgenic plants was approved by two ways 1. Polymerase Chain Reaction technique. 2. Measurement of physiological parameters. The transgenic potatoes and non-transgenic potatoes lines exhibited the different amounts of tolerance to salinity stress because in the transgenic lines mannitol accumulates that increased osmotic pressure in salinity stress. The salt tolerance of transgenic potato cv. Agria (+mtlD) was recorded higher than that of non-transgenic potato cv. Agria (-mtlD). Osmotic pressure in this transgenic potato plant was increased by accumulating of mannitol and existence of mannitol in potato plant approved that the mtlD gene was successfully expressed to potato cv. Agria.