In vitro anther culture and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the AP1 gene from Salix integra Linn. in haploid poplar (Populus simonii × P. nigra)

Abstract

A reliable, efficient anther culture system, the dominant technique for generating haploid plants in breeding programs, that can be used for generating transgenic poplar plants has been needed. In the present study, therefore, an anther culture system was developed using isolated mid- and late-uninucleate anthers of poplar (Populus simonii × P. nigra). From a combination of SSR and ploidy analyses, six double haploid and two haploid lines were characterized from 86 plants grown from 16 regenerated anther cultured lines. After 48 months of development, two plant lines from the regenerated plants maintained their haploid level in vitro for over 2 years. A number of haploid plants from the different lines were transferred to soil. The leaves of these transplants were then used as explants for transformation with the APETALA1 (AP1) gene using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Overexpression of AP1 in haploid poplar induced early flowering with obvious petals when ectopically expressed. To our knowledge, this is the first report on changes in flowering time in AP1-trangenic poplar, which is important for elucidating the regulatory mechanism of tree flower development.