Homologues of the Arabidopsis NIM1 gene, which is involved in the signal
transduction cascade leading to systemic acquired resistance (SAR), are
isolated from monocotyledonous crops such as Triticum aestivum (wheat)
and Oryza sativa (rice). The invention further concerns transformation
vectors and processes for expressing the monocotyledonous NIM1 homologues
in transgenic plants to increase SAR gene expression and enhance broad
spectrum disease resistance
