Transformation of Melon(Cucumis melo L.) with Agrobacterium rhizogenes.

Abstract

Transformation of melon was conducted using Agrobacterium rhizogenes harboring plasmid pBI121 which contains a kanamycin resistant (NPT II) gene and β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene in addition to the resident Ri-plasmid of this strain. Melon leaf segments were inoculated with the bacterium and induced hairy roots were positively selected in the presence of kanamycin. By examining the β-glucuronidase activity of kanamycin-resistant hairy roots, four GUS-positive lines were obtained. An integration of the GUS gene to the host chromosome was further verified by southern blot analysis of the DNAs of these lines. Successful shoot differentiation was achieved by culturing hairy root-derived callus tissues with an MS medium containing 50μg/l of IAA and BAP. Both NPT II and GUS genes were stably expressed at the different stages of shoot differentiation. Thus, the present study suggests that the transfer of foreign genes by A. rhizogenes is applicable to the production of transgenic plants in melon.