Expression of a bacterial phaseolotoxin-resistant ornithyl transcarbamylase in transgenic tobacco confers resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola.

Toxins have been shown to be an important virulence component for most pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae. Here we have examined the role of phaseolotoxin in the virulence mechanism of P. syringae pv. phaseolicola by producing transgenic tobacco plants that express a pathogen-derived toxin-resistant target enzyme. Such plants are insensitive to the toxin and less prone to infection by the pathogen.