| abstract |
Homologues of the <i>Arabidopsis NIM1</i> gene, which is involved in the signal transduction cascade leading to systemic acquired resistance (SAR), are isolated from <i>Nicotiana tabacum</i> (tobacco), <i>Lycopersicon esculentum</i> (tomato), <i>Brassica napus</i> (oilseed rape), <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, <i>Beta vulgaris</i> (sugarbeet), <i>Helianthus annuus</i> (sunflower), and <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> (potato). The invention further concerns transformation vectors and processes for expressing the <i>NIM1</i> homologues in transgenic plants to increase SAR gene expression and enhance broad spectrum disease resistance. |