Allium sativumL Research Articles

Generation of chlorsulfuron-resistant transgenic garlic plants (Allium sativum L.) by particle bombardment

We established an effective biolistic transformation procedure fortransferring foreign genes into garlic (Allium sativumL.),which we demonstrated by generating transgenic plants resistant tochlorsulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide. We subcultured callus tissue from theapical meristem of garlic cloves and repeatedly selected calli with brittle,non-mucilaginous surfaces for over six months, to increase transformationefficiency. We then constructed recombinant DNA that contained the acetolactatesynthase (ALS) gene from a chlorsulfuron-resistantArabidopsis mutant, the cauliflower mosaic virus 35Spromoter, the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, and the hygromycinphosphotransferase (HPT) selectable marker gene. The garlic calli werebombarded twice with tungsten particles coated with the DNA constructs. Transformed calliwere efficiently selected by embedding them in solid agar medium containing 50mg l−1 hygromycin B. Selected propagules wereregenerated into 12 independent plants. We confirmed that the transgenes wereintegrated and expressed in the plants using PCR-Southern and Northern blotanalyses and by β-glucuronidase expression assay forGUS. The regenerated plants survived in the presence of 3mg l−1 chlorsulfuron, demonstrating that theirALS was insensitive to this herbicide. These results illustrate the successfultransformation of foreign genes into garlic plants. The set of proceduresdeveloped in this study is applicable to the generation of transgenic garlicplants with other agronomically beneficial traits.

A garlic lectin exerted an antitumor activity and induced apoptosis in human tumor cells

Cytotoxic effects of a lectin prepared from garlic ( Allium sativum-L) bulbs on human tumor cells were studied. The lectin strongly reduced the growth and DNA synthesis of human tumor cells in a time- and a dose-dependent manner. By contrast, a soybean lectin showed only a weak inhibitory effect on growth and DNA synthesis of tumor cells. Furthermore, the garlic lectin induced apoptosis in the cells at a low concentration. The antitumor activity of garlic lectin may provide a rational basis for its effectiveness observed in clinical applications.

Competition Between Purple Nutsedge and Vegetables

Competition studies were conducted in Brazil during 1972 and 1973 between high populations (160 plants/0.1 m2at 5 to 7 weeks after planting) of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundusL.) and the following vegetable crops: garlic (Allium sativumL. ‘Mineiro’), okra (Hibiscus esculentusL. ‘UFV 1152’), carrot (Daucus carotaL. ‘Nantes’ and ‘Kuroda’), bush-type green bean (Phaseolus vulgarisL. ‘Topcrop’), cucumber (Cucumis sativusL. ‘Aldai’), transplanted cabbage (Brassica oleraceaL. var. capitata ‘Louco’) and transplanted tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill. ‘Santa Rita’). Purple nutsedge grew all year with irrigation, although growth was greater during the warm, wet season (October to March). Crop losses due to purple nutsedge competition during the entire cropping season were as follows: garlic 89%; okra 62%; two carrot cultivars, ‘Kuroda’ and ‘Nantes’ 39% and 50%, respectively; green bean 41%; cucumber 43%; cabbage 35%; and tomato 53%. Critical periods of purple nutsedge competition occurred between 3 and 13 weeks for garlic; 3 and 7 weeks for okra, cucumber and the carrot cultivar ‘Nantes’; 3 and 5 weeks for tomato and the carrot cultivar ‘Kuroda’; and at approximately 4 weeks for cabbage and green bean. Purple nutsedge competed for light in the slow-growing, non-competitive crops and for nutrients in all crops. Competition for water was reduced because the vegetables were irrigated regularly. The rate of leaf area development for a competitive crop, green bean, was similar to the rate for purple nutsedge, whereas the rate was much lower for the non-competitive okra.