Co-cultivation Medium Research Articles

An Easy Method for Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Gene Transfer to Nicotiana tabacum cv. TAPM26

Research in Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer has advanced and opened new avenue for plant improvement via introduction of various beneficial genes. Current study investigates transformation parameters during co-cultivation to improve T-DNA delivery into Nicotiana tabacum cv. TAPM 26 by monitoring GUS expression level. The techniques involved basic plant tissue culture and establishment of plant transformation systems. Conditions assessed were bacterial inoculum concentration, infection period, wounding and pre-culture of explants, acetosyringone (AS) concentration and co-cultivation temperature. Optimized conditions resulted in high transformation efficiency at transient level were as follows; Agrobacterium tumefaciens growth phase of A600nm 0.8, infection period of 30 min, pre-culture of wounded explants prior to infection, addition of acetosyringone (AS) in bacterial growth culture (100 µM) and in co-cultivation medium (200 µM) and co-cultivation temperature of 22°C. Although higher density bacterial culture used for the infection process gave higher transformation rate, however, it compromised the viability of the explants. On the other hand, dilution of bacterial suspension reduced necrosis in explants and improved transformation events greatly. The transformation efficiency was increased 9 fold when the infection process was carried out at low temperature of 22°C. Current study has proven among the parameters assessed, temperature was the critical factor during co-cultivation process in Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer.

An efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation of “Egusi” melon (Colocynthis citrullus L.)

Cotyledonary explants of two “Egusi” genotypes, ‘Ejagham’ and NHC1-130, were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA101 carrying either plasmid pIG121-Hm harbouring genes coding for beta-glucuronidase (gus), hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) and neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) or plasmid pBBRacdS harbouring these same genes along with a gene coding for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. Six weeks after co-cultivation, more than 35% of explants produced shoots in both cultivars. A DNA fragment corresponding to the gus gene or the selection marker nptII was amplified from genomic DNA extracted from leaves of regenerated plant clones rooted on hormone-free MS medium containing 100 mg/l kanamycin, suggesting their transgenic nature. Southern blot analysis confirmed successful integration of one to three copies of the gus gene. Transformation efficiencies of cultivar NHC1-130 with EHA101(pIG121-Hm) and EHA101(pIG121-Hm, pBBRacdS) were 3.8% and 10%, respectively, which were higher than those obtained for cultivar ‘Ejagham’ of 2.4% and 5.7%, respectively. Co-cultivation medium containing 5 mg/l BA was effective for obtaining high transformation efficiency for both cultivars as compared with that without it.

Cocultivation medium

Cocultivation medium

Stable genetic transformation of Jatropha curcas via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer using leaf explants

Jatropha curcas is an oil bearing species with multiple uses and considerable economic potential as a biofuel crop. A simple and reproducible protocol was developed for Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated stable genetic transformation of J. curcas using leaf explants. Agrobacterium strain LBA 4404 harbouring the binary vector pCAMBIA 1304 having sense-dehydration responsive element binding (S-DREB2A), β-glucuronidase (gus), and hygromycin-phosphotransferase (hpt ) genes were used for gene transfer. A number of parameters such as preculture of explants, wounding of leaf explants, Agrobacterium growth phase (OD), infection duration, co-cultivation period, co-cultivation medium pH, and acetosyringone, were studied to optimized transformation efficiency. The highest transformation efficiency was achieved using 4-day precultured, non-wounded leaf explants infected with Agrobacterium culture corresponding to OD 600 = 0.6 for 20 min, followed by co-cultivation for 4 days in a co-cultivation medium containing 100 μM acetosyringone, pH 5.7. Co-cultivated leaf explants were initially cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.27 μM thidiazuron (TDZ) for regeneration of shoot buds, followed by selection on same medium with 5 μg ml −1 hygromycin. Selected shoot buds were transferred to MS medium containing 10 μM kinetin (Kn), 4.5 μM 6-benzyl aminopurine (BA), and 5.5 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) for proliferation. The proliferated shoots were elongated on MS medium supplemented with 2.25 μM BA and 8.5 μM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The elongated shoots were rooted on half strength MS medium supplemented with 15 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 5.7 μM IAA, 5.5 μM NAA, and 0.25 mg l −1 activated charcoal. GUS histochemical analysis of the transgenic tissues further confirmed the transformation event. PCR and DNA gel blot hybridization were performed to confirm the presence of transgene. A transformation efficiency of 29% was achieved for leaf explants using this protocol.

Investigation of Factors in Optimizing Agrobacterium-Mediated Gene Transfer in Citrullus lanatus cv. Round Dragon

Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 harboring a binary plasmid pCambar (containing Basta resistance (bar) gene, neomycin phosphotransferase (npt II) gene and s-Glucuronidase (GUS) gene) was used to optimize the transformation efficiency in Citrullus lanatus cv. Round Dragon. In this study, the ability of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to mediate a gene transfer in Citrullus lanatus was highly dependent on various transformation factors. In current investigation, we have established factors influencing gene expression including explant ages of cotyledon- (5 days old cotyledon), pre-culture condition (2 days), wounding technique (multi wired with massive wounding technique), Agrobacterium concentration (A600 nm 0.8), co-incubation period of explants with Agrobacterium (30 min) and acetosyringone concentration (200 µM) in co-cultivation medium. These factors gave maximized transformation efficiency. The expression of the foreign functional gene in the plant genome was confirmed by histochemical GUS assay activity after 3 days of co-cultivation period. By combining the best conditions from each evaluated factors, we successfully established an efficient and reproducible Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol for Citrullus lanatus cv. Round Dragon which yielded 100% of transgene expression with 181.18±0.57 blue spots per responding explant. In conclusion, the transformation system for Citrullus lanatus cv. Round Dragon was optimized. The transformation procedure was proved to influence the transformation efficiency in Citrullus lanatus at 100% transient expression. Present study also suggested that different plant varieties may affect the transformation rate. The optimized conditions will then be used in future research to make a transgenic plant.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum cv Stewart) with improved efficiency.

An efficient Agrobacterium-mediated durum wheat transformation system has been developed for the production of 121 independent transgenic lines. This improved system used Agrobacterium strain AGL1 containing the superbinary pGreen/pSoup vector system and durum wheat cv Stewart as the recipient plant. Acetosyringone at 400 μM was added to both the inoculation and cultivation medium, and picloram at 10 mg l−1 and 2 mg l−1 was used in the cultivation and induction medium, respectively. Compared with 200 μM in the inoculation and cultivation media, the increased acetosyringone concentration led to significantly higher GUS (β-glucuronidase) transient expression and T-DNA delivery efficiency. However, no evident effects of acetosyringone concentration on regeneration frequency were observed. The higher acetosyringone concentration led to an improvement in average final transformation efficiency from 4.7% to 6.3%. Furthermore, the concentration of picloram in the co-cultivation medium had significant effects on callus induction and regeneration. Compared with 2 mg l−1 picloram in the co-cultivation medium, increasing the concentration to 10 mg l−1 picloram resulted in improved final transformation frequency from 2.8% to 6.3%, with the highest frequency of 12.3% reached in one particular experiment, although statistical analysis showed that this difference in final transformation efficiency had a low level of significance. Stable integration of foreign genes, their expression, and inheritance were confirmed by Southern blot analyses, GUS assay, and genetic analysis. Analysis of T1 progeny showed that, of the 31 transgenic lines randomly selected, nearly one-third had a segregation ratio of 3:1, while the remainder had ratios typical of two or three independently segregating loci.

Macro elements in inoculation and co-cultivation medium strongly affect the efficiency of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Lilium

A highly efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for Lilium × formolongi was established by modifying the medium used for inoculation and co-cultivation. Meristematic nodular calli of Lilium were inoculated with an overnight culture of A. tumefaciens strain EHA101 containing the plasmid pIG121-Hm harboring an intron-containing β-glucuronidase (GUS), hygromycin phosphotransferase, and neomycin phosphotransferase II genes. The effects of ten different types of media and carbohydrates (sucrose, d-glucose, and l-arabinose) in both inoculation and co-cultivation media were evaluated. Interestingly, a dramatic increase in the frequency of transformation (25.4%) was observed when Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing sucrose and lacking KH2PO4, NH4NO3, KNO3, and CaCl2 was used. Hygromycin-resistant transgenic calli were obtained only in medium supplemented with sucrose. The effects of this modified medium were also investigated for Lilium cultivars ‘Acapulco’, ‘Casa Blanca’, and ‘Red Ruby’. The highest frequency of transformation (23.3%) was obtained for cv. Acapulco. Hygromycin-resistant calli were successfully regenerated into plantlets on plant growth regulator-free MS medium. Transgenic plants were confirmed by GUS histochemical assay, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Southern blot analyses.

Early GFP gene assessments influencing Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system in Phalaenopsis violacea orchid

An initial step in the genetic transformation of Phalaenopsis violacea orchid species was investigated in the plant-Agrobacterium interaction. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains EHA 101 and 105, harboring the pCAMBIA 1304 plasmid contains gfp gene as the reporter gene marker, were used in this transformation study. The spectrophotometric GFP assay provides information on the amount of inoculated Agrobacterium tumefaciens that effectively bound to various orchid tissues. Different temperatures during co-cultivation period, the concentration of Lcysteine, calcium (CaCl2) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) in co-cultivation medium during cocultivation period were identified to be major and important factors in enhancing the increase percentage of transient gfp gene expression in PLBs. Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA 105 was proved to be better bacterial strain in transforming the targeted PLBs than EHA 101, based on the notably higher transient expression of gfp gene in all the optimization parameters that were tested. Highest T-DNA delivery efficiencies were obtained when P. violacea PLBs were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA 105 in half-strength MS medium supplemented with 5% of banana cultivar, Mas extract containing 200 mgL-1 L-cysteine, 60µM silver nitrate, without calcium in the medium during co-cultivation in the dark condition at 24°C. The results from the transient gfp gene expression of PLBs suggested that Agrobacterium-mediated transfer of T-DNA to the naturally recalcitrant P. violacea is feasible and is highly efficient. Hence, the use of the gfp marker gene during in vitro screening of the transgenic cells has enabled the visual selection of orchid transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens at higher frequency rates.

A high-throughput Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system for molecular breeding and functional genomics of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation is the preferred method for genetic transformation of rice. Here we provide a comprehensive and high-through-put protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of rice for generating the large numbers of transgenic plants that are required for functional analysis and for evaluating traits of agronomic importance. In a project designed to produce nitrogen use efficient rice plants, we refined/improved several factors including optimization of conditions for inducing vir genes prior to transformation, infection and co-cultivation medium for better interaction of target tissues with Agrobacterium. These optimizations supported not only the survival of co-cultured calli in high frequency, but also the production of multiple resistant cell lines per co-cultured embryogenic and nodular callus. In addition, improvements in plant tissue culture, selection and regeneration media has enabled us to produce large numbers of transgenic rice plants containing genes of agronomical importance. Partial desiccation and ABA treatment to hygromycin-resistant callus tissue significantly (P<0.05) enhanced both regeneration frequency and regeneration of transgenic plantlets per callus tissue. Regeneration frequency was further improved by optimizing the concentration of copper sulphate in the regeneration medium. The majority of the transgenic plants obtained using this improved protocol displayed a normal phenotype and the gene of interest was inherited by the progeny in a Mendelian fashion. Homozygous plants of selected lines showed stable phenotypes both in soil and hydroponic conditions even after five generations. Availability of such a high-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system will improve future opportunities for rice genetics and functional genomics study.

Selection system and co-cultivation medium are important determinants of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sugarcane

A reproducible method for transformation of sugarcane using various strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens (A. tumefaciens) (AGL0, AGL1, EHA105 and LBA4404) has been developed. The selection system and co-cultivation medium were the most important factors determining the success of transformation and transgenic plant regeneration. Plant regeneration at a frequency of 0.8-4.8% occurred only when callus was transformed with A. tumefaciens carrying a newly constructed superbinary plasmid containing neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) and beta-glucuronidase (gusA) genes, both driven by the maize ubiquitin (ubi-1) promoter. Regeneration was successful in plants carrying the nptII gene but not the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph) gene. NptII gene selection was imposed at a concentration of 150 mg/l paromomycin sulphate and applied either immediately or 4 days after the co-cultivation period. Co-cultivation on Murashige and Skoog (MS)-based medium for a period of 4 days produced the highest number of transgenic plants. Over 200 independent transgenic lines were created using this protocol. Regenerated plants appeared phenotypically normal and contained both gusA and nptII genes. Southern blot analysis revealed 1-3 transgene insertion events that were randomly integrated in the majority of the plants produced.

Rapid in planta evaluation of root expressed transgenes in chimeric soybean plants

Production of stable transgenic plants is one factor that limits rapid evaluation of tissue specific transgene expression. To hasten the assessment of transgenes in planta, we evaluated the use of chimeric soybean seedlings expressing transgenic products in roots. Tap roots from four-day old seedlings (cultivars 'Jack' and KS4704) were excised and hairy roots were induced from hypocotyls via Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation. Inoculated hypocotyls were screened on a MS-based medium containing either 200 mg/L kanamycin or 20 mg/L hygromycin. Beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity assay indicated that highest GUS expression was observed in hypocotyls exposed to a 4-d pre-inoculation time, a neutral pH (7.0) for the co-cultivation medium. A 170-bp of the Fib-1 gene and 292-bp of the Y25C1A.5 gene fragments, both related to nematode reproduction and fitness, were cloned independently into pANDA35HK vector using a Gateway cloning strategy. The resulting RNAi constructs of the genes fragments were transformed into soybean using the chimeric hairy root system and evaluated for its effect on soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) fecundity. Confirmation of transformation was attained by polymerase chain reaction and Southern-blot analysis, and some potential for suppression of H. glycines reproduction was detected for the two constructs. This method takes on average four weeks to produce chimeric plants ready for transgene analysis.

Transgenic ramie [Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud.]: factors affecting the efficiency of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation and regeneration

In the present study, an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation system was developed for ramie [Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud.] based on the examinations of several factors affecting plant transformation efficiency. The effects of Agrobacterium cell density, acetosyringone, co-cultivation temperature, co-cultivation duration, co-cultivation photoperiod and pH on stable transformation were evaluated. Agrobacterium at a concentration of OD = 0.5-0.8 improved the efficiency of transformation. Concentration of acetosyringone at 50 mg/L during co-cultivation significantly increased transformation efficiency. Co-cultivation at 20 degrees C, in comparison to 15, 25 and 28 degrees C, consistently resulted in higher transformation frequencies. A relatively short co-cultivation duration (3 days) was optimal for ramie transformation. Co-cultivation medium at pH 5.9 and co-cultivation in darkness both improved the transformation efficiencies of ramie. An overall scheme for producing transgenic ramie is presented, through which an average transformation rate from 10.5 to 24.7% in five ramie varieties was obtained. Stable expression and integration of the transgenes were confirmed by histochemical GUS assay, kanamycin painting assay, PCR and Southern blotting. This optimized transformation system should be employed for efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of ramie.

Evaluation of parameters affecting Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of citrus

An improved protocol for genetic transformation of juvenile explants of Carrizo (Citrus sinensis Osb. × Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf.), Duncan (Citrus paradisi Macf.), Hamlin (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) and Mexican Lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) cultivars using a vector containing a bifunctional egfp-nptII fusion gene is described. Several parameters were investigated to optimize genetic transformation of these four cultivars. It was determined that a short preincubation in hormone rich liquid medium and subculture of Agrobacterium for 3 h in YEP medium containing 100 μM acetosyringone were required for improvement of transformation efficiency. Co-cultivation duration as well as addition of acetosyringone to co-cultivation medium also played an important role in transformation efficiency as did OD600 value of the Agrobacterium suspension used for transformation. We regenerated numerous EGFP expressing transgenic lines from all four cultivars. Based on these results, we conclude that genetic transformation of citrus is cultivar specific and optimization of conditions for maximum transgenic production are required for each individual cultivar.

The development of herbicide-resistant maize: stable Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of maize using explants of type II embryogenic calli

One of the limitations to conducting maize Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using explants of immature zygotic embryos routinely is the availability of the explants. To produce immature embryos routinely and continuously requires a well-equipped greenhouse and laborious artificial pollination. To overcome this limitation, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system using explants of type II embryogenic calli was developed. Once the type II embryogenic calli are produced, they can be subcultured and/or proliferated conveniently. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate a stable Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of maize using explants of type II embryonic calli and to evaluate the efficiency of the protocol in order to develop herbicide-resistant maize. The type II embryogenic calli were inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58C1 carrying binary vector pTF102, and then were subsequently cultured on the following media: co-cultivation medium for 1 day, delay medium for 7 days, selection medium for 4 × 14 days, regeneration medium, and finally on germination medium. The T-DNA of the vector carried two cassettes (Ubi promoter-EPSPs ORF-nos and 35S promoter–bar ORF-nos). The EPSPs conferred resistance to glyphosate and bar conferred resistance to phosphinothricin. The confirmation of stable transformation and the efficiency of transformation was based on the resistance to phosphinothricin indicated by the growth of putative transgenic calli on selection medium amended with 4 mg l−1 phosphinothricin, northern blot analysis of bar gene, and leaf painting assay for detection of bar gene-based herbicide resistance. Northern blot analysis and leaf painting assay confirmed the expression of bar transgenes in the R1 generation. The average transformation efficiency was 0.60%. Based on northern blot analysis and leaf painting assay, line 31 was selected as an elite line of maize resistant to herbicide.

Influence of Agrobacterium rhizogenes on induction of hairy roots and benzylisoquinoline alkaloids production in Persian poppy (Papaver bracteatum Lindl.): preliminary report

Persian poppy (Papaver bracteatum Lindl.) is an important medicinal plant and source of the opium alkaloids codeine, morphine and thebaine. Transgenic root cultures of P. bracteatum Lindl. are well-defined model systems to investigate the molecular and metabolic regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis. Agrobacterium rhizogenes was able to produce hairy roots on wounded Persian poppy seedlings. Excised shoots from 7-day-old Persian poppy were co-cultivated with the A. rhizogenes strain R15834 carrying the pBI121 binary vector. All media, except for the co-cultivation medium, included 40 mg l−1 paromomycin to select for pBI121 transformants and 200 mg l−1 cefotaxime to eliminate the Agrobacterium. Eight weeks after infection, paromomycin-resistant roots appeared on 45–50% of explants maintained on hormone-free medium. Isolated hairy roots were propagated in liquid medium containing 1.0 mg l−1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid to promote rapid growth. Also, callus induction and shoot regeneration of transformed Calli in vitro was achieved on B5 medium containing 1.0 mg l−1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid. Detection of the neomycin phosphotransferase gene and GUS histochemical localization confirmed the integrative transformation of root cultures. This is the first study to illustrate useful protocol to introduce foreign genes into transgenic Persian poppy hairy root cultures using A. rhizogenes strain R15834.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Transgenic ramie [Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud.]: factors affecting the efficiency of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation and regeneration

In the present study, an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation system was developed for ramie [Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud.] based on the examinations of several factors affecting plant transformation efficiency. The effects of Agrobacterium cell density, acetosyringone, co-cultivation temperature, co-cultivation duration, co-cultivation photoperiod and pH on stable transformation were evaluated. Agrobacterium at a concentration of OD = 0.5–0.8 improved the efficiency of transformation. Concentration of acetosyringone at 50 mg/L during co-cultivation significantly increased transformation efficiency. Co-cultivation at 20°C, in comparison to 15, 25 and 28°C, consistently resulted in higher transformation frequencies. A relatively short co-cultivation duration (3 days) was optimal for ramie transformation. Co-cultivation medium at pH 5.9 and co-cultivation in darkness both improved the transformation efficiencies of ramie. An overall scheme for producing transgenic ramie is presented, through which an average transformation rate from 10.5 to 24.7% in five ramie varieties was obtained. Stable expression and integration of the transgenes were confirmed by histochemical GUS assay, kanamycin painting assay, PCR and Southern blotting. This optimized transformation system should be employed for efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of ramie.

Towards genetic improvement of commercially important microalga Haematococcus pluvialis for biotech applications

Haematococcus pluvialis is a unicellular green alga which produces a ketocarotenoid, astaxanthin which has pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications owing to its high antioxidant activity. Biotechnological approaches such as genetic transformation methods (Agrobacterium-mediated) and cloning strategies, are essential to improve/regulate this ketocarotenoid in Haematococcus. For this studies are necessary to improve Haematococcus through biotechnological means. In this connection, a suitable cocultivation medium for Haematococcus and Agrobacterium tumefaciens was standardized and different antibiotics were screened. Among the cocultivation media viz Z8, Bold’s Basal Medium, Tris Acetate Phosphate Z8 with 0.5% mannitol and BBM and Z8 with half strength LB TAP medium was found suitable for growth of both the alga Haematococcus and Agrobacterium. For the different antibiotics screened to identify the sensitivity of algae, hygromycin at more than 2 mg L−1 showed lethal effect which can be used as a selectable marker gene in genetic transformation, whereas cefotaxime and augmentin showed no effect up to 2,000 mg L−1. The growth of algae was higher in solid selection medium when compared to the liquid selection medium.

Establishment of a high efficiency Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Technologies for transformation of rice have been developed to meet the requirements of functional genomics in order to enable the production of transgenic rice plants with useful agricultural characters. However, many rice varieties are not efficiently transformed by Agrobacterium. We have succeeded in establishing a highly efficient transformation system in rice by co-cultivating rice calli with Agrobacterium on three filter papers moistened with enriched N6 or DKN media instead of using solid media. Rice calli immersed in Agrobacterium suspension (EHA101, Agrobacterium concentration of OD600=0.04) were co-cultured on three pieces of filter paper (9cm in diameter) moistened with 5.5mL of N6 or DKN liquid co-cultivation medium supplemented with 2,4-d (2mg/L), proline (10mM), casein hydrolysate (300mg/L), sucrose (30g/L), glucose (5g/L), l-cysteine (100mg/L) and acetosyringone (15mg/L) at 25°C for 3 days in the dark. Compared with the transformation efficiency of calli co-cultivated on solid media, transformation efficiency was increased by about fivefold by using the filter paper method for many varieties of rice, including those that previously yielded much poor transformation rates.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Dioscorea zingiberensis Wright, an important pharmaceutical crop

Dioscorea zingiberensis Wright has been cultivated as a pharmaceutical crop for production of diosgenin, a precursor for synthesis of various important steroid drugs. Because breeding of D. zingiberensis through sexual hybridization is difficult due to its unstable sexuality and differences in timing of flowering in male and female plants, gene transfer approaches may play a vital role in its genetic improvement. In this study, the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of D. zingiberensis was investigated with leaves and calli as explants. The results showed that both leaf segments and callus pieces were sensitive to 30 mg/l hygromycin and 50–60 mg/l kanamycin, and using calli as explants and addition of acetosyringone (AS) in cocultivation medium were crucial for successful transformation. We first immersed callus explants in A. tumefaciens cells for 30 min and then transferred the explants onto a co-cultivation medium supplemented with 200 μM AS for 3 days. Three days after, we cultured the infected explants on a selective medium containing 50 mg/l kanamycin and 100 mg/l timentin for formation of kanamycin-resistant calli. After the kanamycin-resistant calli were produced, we transferred them onto fresh selective medium for shoot induction. Finally, the kanamycin resistant shoots were rooted and the stable incorporation of the transgene into the genome of D. zingiberensis plants was confirmed by GUS histochemical assay, PCR and Southern blot analyses. The method reported here can be used to produce transgenic D. zingiberensis plants in 5 months and the transformation frequency is 24.8% based on the numbers of independent transgenic plants regenerated from initial infected callus explants.

오이에서 체세포배 발생을 통한 GUS유전자의 발현 및 식물체 재생

Agrobacterium공동배양법으로 오이의 기관발생을 통한 형질전환에서 가장 문제점 중 하나는 chimeric 형질전환체의 발생빈도이다. 이러한 문제점을 극복하기 위하여 항생제로서 paromomycin이 첨가된 선발배지에서 "은성" 품종의 배축절편으로부터 체세포배발생을 통한 형질전환시스템을 개발하였다. 배축절편을 pPPTN290발현벡터가 도입된 Agrobacterium 균주 (EHA101)에 30분간 접종한 후 2일간 공동배양 하였고, 선발배지에서 2주 간격으로 5회 계대 배양하면서 항생제 저항성 캘러스 선발, 체세포배발생 및 식물체를 유도하였다. pPPTN290발현벡터의 T-DNA는 reporter유전자로서 Ubi 프로모터에 의해 gus유전자가 발현조절 되도록 그리고 항생제로서 paromomycin에 저항성을 갖는 nptII유전자가 35S 프로모터에 의해 발현되도록 제조하였다. 안정적 형질전환과 빈도는 캘러스의 paromomycin항생제 저항성과 GUS유전자의 발현 여부에 의해 조사하였다. Agrobacterium과 공동배양한 928개의 배축절편에서 paromomycin에 저항성을 갖는 56개의 캘러스 클론을 얻었고, 이중 48개 캘러스 클론 (5.2%)에서 GUS유전자가 안정적으로 발현되고 있음을 확인하였다. 48개의 캘러스 클론중에서 오직 5개의 캘러스 클론으로부터 식물체를 얻어 낮은 빈도 (0.5%)를 나타냈다. 수확한 <TEX>$T_1$</TEX>종자에서 GUS양성반응은 gus유전자가 오이 게놈에 안정적으로 도입 및 발현되고 있음을 확인하였다. One of the limitation for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation via organogenesis from cotyledon explants routinely in cucumber is the production of chimeric plants. To overcome the limitation, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system via somatic embryogenesis from hypocotyl explants of cucumber (c.v., Eunsung) on the selection medium with paromomycin as antibiotics was developed. The hypocotyl explants were inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA101 carrying binary vector pPTN290; then were subsequently cultured on the following media: co-cultivation medium for 2 days, selection medium for <TEX>$5{\times}14$</TEX> days, and regeneration medium. The T-DNA of the vector (pPTN290) carried two cassettes, Ubi promoter-gus gene as reporter and 35S promoter-nptll gene conferring resistance to paromomycin as selectable agent. The confirmation of stable transformation and the efficiency of transformation was based on the resistance to paromomycin indicated by the growth of putative transgenic calli on selection medium amended with 100mg/L paromomycin, and GUS gene expression. Forty eight clones (5.2%) with GUS gene expressed of 56 callus clones with resistance to paromomycin were independently obtained from 928 explants inoculated. Of 48 clones, transgenic plants were only regenerated from 5 clones (0.5%) at low frequency. The histochemical GUS assay in the transgenic seeds (<TEX>$T_1$</TEX>) also revealed that the gus gene was successfully integrated and segregated into each genome of transgenic cucumber.