PRELIMINARY CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSGENIC TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.) PLANTS WITH THE ISOPENTENYL TRANSFERASE GENE

Authors: BARTOSZEWSKI, G - WARSAW AGRIC UNIV POLAND; MALEPSZY, S - WARSAW AGRIC UNIV POLAND; Smigocki, Anna; NIEMIROWICZ, K - WARSAW AGRIC UNIV POLAND

Submitted to: Proceedings of the IAPTC Conference
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/4/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: A gene that encodes for the production of a plant growth regulator, cytokinin, was introduced into three different forms of tomato lines, variety Beta, and lines ls and nor. Each plant has a characteristic growth pattern. Beta grows as small plants, nor fruits do not ripen and ls plants exhibit growth associated with a deficiency in the cytokinin hormone. Transformed plants carrying the newly introduced cytokinin synthesis gene were derived with each of the tomato forms. One of the transformed plants showed a reversion of its deficiency with the expression of the cytokinin gene. This research will help scientists determine the nature of the mutations in important tomato lines and will lead to production of commercial tomato lines with higher yield and quality of fruits.

Technical Abstract: Three forms of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. variety Beta, line ls and line nor were subjected to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation based on a construct ACS101 carrying ipt gene under heat shock promoter (hsp70) from Drosophila melanogaster. Explants of all three genotypes produced shoots which formed roots on a medium containing kanamycin. The majority of frooted shoots (69%) showed unchanged ploidy level. Diploid plantlets were transferred to the greenhouse. The PCR analysis showed that 57% of these plants had an integrated chimeric ipt gene. Finally 17 transgenic diploid plants carrying ipt gene were distinguished. One of these plants was characterised by a changed phenotype.