Transient gene expression in rose petals via Agrobacterium infiltration

Abstract

The study of gene function in roses is hampered by the low efficiency of transformation systems and the long time span needed for the generation of transgenic plants. For some functional analyses, the transient expression of genes would be an efficient alternative. Based on current protocols for the transient expression of genes via the infiltration of Agrobacterium into plant tissues, we developed a transient expression system for rose petals. We used β-glucuronidase (GUS) as a marker gene to optimize several parameters with effects on GUS expression. The efficiency of expression was found to be dependent on the rose genotype, flower age, position of petals within a flower, Agrobacterium strain and temperature of co-cultivation. The highest GUS expression was recorded in petals of the middle whirls of half-bloomed flowers from cultivars of ‘Pariser Charme’ and ‘Marvel’.