English

Abstract

Biotechnology techniques including plant tissue culture and recombinant DNA technologies are important tools that can complement traditional breeding. Progress has been slow in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), mainly due to its recalcitrant in plant regeneration and genetic transformation. Despite this, some achievements have been obtained. This review presents a consolidated account of explants used, mode of regeneration and genetic transformation in cowpea. Furthermore, it describes the discussion of some existing problems about regeneration and genetic transformation in cowpea. The authors find that organogenesis pathway and Agrobacterium mediated method is widely used in this area in cowpea recent years. Other explants such as anther should be researched in regeneration in cowpea and the affecting factors during transformation process should be explored further.   Key words: Regeneration, organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, genetic transformation, cowpea.