ABSTRACT
We describe a procedure for producing transgenic bottle gourd plants by inoculating cotyledon explants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1 that carries the binary vector pCAMBIA3301 containing a glufosinate ammonium-resistance (bar) gene and the beta-D-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. The most effective bacterial infection was observed when cotyledon explants of 4-day-old seedlings were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium for 6-8 days on co-cultivation medium supplemented with 0.1-0.001 mg/l L-alpha-(2-aminoethoxyvinyl) glycine (AVG). The putatively transformed shoots directly emerged at the proximal end of cotyledon explants after 2-3 weeks of culturing on selection medium containing 2 mg/l DL-phosphinothricin. These shoots were rooted after 3 weeks of culturing on half-strength MS medium containing 0.1 mg/l indole acetic acid and 1 mg/l DL-phosphinothricin. Transgenic plants were obtained at frequencies of 1.9%. Stable integration and transmission of the transgenes in T1 generation plants were confirmed by a histochemical GUS assay, polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analyses. Genetic segregation analysis of T1 progenies showed that transgenes were inherited in a Mendelian fashion. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in bottle gourd.
Subject(s)
Agrobacterium tumefaciens/genetics , Cucurbitaceae/genetics , Glycine/analogs & derivatives , Transformation, Genetic , Aminobutyrates/pharmacology , Blotting, Southern , Cucurbitaceae/drug effects , Cucurbitaceae/microbiology , Ethylenes/pharmacology , Glucuronidase/genetics , Glycine/pharmacology , Plant Shoots , Plants, Genetically Modified , Polymerase Chain Reaction , RegenerationABSTRACT
Using cotyledon explants excised from seedlings germinated in vitro, an efficient plant regeneration system via organogenesis was established for bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria Standl.). Maximum shoot regeneration was obtained when the proximal parts of cotyledons from 4-day-old seedlings were cultured on MS medium with 3 mg/l BA and 0.5 mg/l AgNO(3) under a 16-h photoperiod. After 3-4 weeks of culture, 21.9-80.7% of explants from the five cultivars regenerated shoots. Adventitious shoots were successfully rooted on a half-strength MS medium with 0.1 mg/l IAA for 2-3 weeks. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that most of the regenerated plants derived from culture on medium with AgNO(3) were diploid.
