ARS | Publication request: FACTORS INFLUENCING GENE TRANSFER EFFICIENCY DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF TRANSFORMATION OF HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRIES

Submitted to: Blueberry Research Extension North American Workers Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 27, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Several factors were investigated for their influence on the transfer of an intron - containing B-glucuronidase (GUS) gene into highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) leaf explants during the early stages of Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer including days of cocultivation, strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, explant age and genotype. The number of GUS expressing leaf zones and calli were counted immediately and two weeks after cocultivation, respectively, to evaluate the gene transfer process. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 (pEHA105/p35SGUSint) was significantly more effective for transformation than strain LBA4404 (pAL4404/p35SGUSint). Four days of cocultivation with A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 yielded about 50-fold as many GUS expressing zones compared to two days cocultivation. Significant differences among cultivars were observed for both GUS expressing leaf zones and calli. For some cultivars, explant age influenced number of GUS expressing leaf zones and calli. In most cases, the number of GUS expressing calli was highest in those cultivars where GUS expression in leaves was high.