ASSESSMENT OF REGENERATION AND Agrobacterium tumefaciens- MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION IN SOME SOYBEAN CULTIVARS

Abstract

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a major source for food and animal feed and globally vegetable oil production. Significant efforts have been made in soybean breeding through conventional approaches but are limited by its self-pollination ability. Commercially available cultivars were used to produce transgenic soybeans. Their regenerative capacity and some relevant factors for successful genetic transformation were identified. The regeneration of the soybean cultivars was evaluated through shoot and root formation, shoots elongation, and adaption of plantlets in acclimatization period. While shoot-regeneration was well in HLDN29, DT22, DT84, and MTD176 cultivars, rooting capacity of investigated cultivars was the same. In vitro plantlets were well acclimatized under nursery conditions. Agrobacterium tumefaciens – mediated transformation showed that lipoic acid was efficient in reducing browning or necrosis of cotyledonary nodes during bacterial co-cultivation. Selective medium containing 10 mg.L-1 hygromycin was appropriate for screening of putative transformed shoots. Of the five shoots regenerated on selective media, two individuals were proved to be transformed by PCR analysis of hygromycin resistance gene (hptII)