Walnuts and apples without crown gall diseaseCrown gall disease can severely limit the growth and productivity of many tree crops and ornamental plants. HairpinRNAi has been used to silence two highly conserved Agrobacterium tumefaciens oncogenes - tryptophan monooxygenase (iaaM) and isopentenyl transferase (ipt) that are required for crown gall development, thus providing functional resistance to crown gall disease. This strategy is highly efficacious in English (Persian) walnut (Juglans regia L.), as several transformed lines expressing self-complementary iaaM and ipt transgenes display a highly specific accumulation of small-interfering RNAs and a broad-spectrum suppression of tumorigenesis. This strategy has high potential in the future development of crown gall-resistant fruit and nut crops.
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