In this study a simple and rapid transformation protocol was used. Two economically important tetraploid potato cultivars, viz., Albatros and Desiree were transformed in a relatively short period of time by the gene ggpPS for salinity and drought tolerance. After only one week on callus induction media, green, friable and nodular callus was formed. Callus induction frequency of the two genotypes Albatros and Desiree was 59.7 and 68.6%, respectively. The mean shoot bud formation of the two genotypes Albatros and Desiree was 46.7 and 39.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, average regeneration of shoot bud was 27.9 and 25.6 for the two genotypes respectively. Regenerated shoots were transferred to rooting medium supplemented with 80 mg/l kanamycin. Overall, transformation efficiency of the two genotypes was 13.5 and 9.1%, respectively. The regenerated plants were transferred to micro-tuberization medium. Thirteen plants succeeded to form micro-tubers within ten weeks. Transformation of these plants was confirmed by PCR. The resulting plants did not show any significant morphological changes compared with control plants. Production of these plants paves the way to study the expression of the gene ggpPS in potato. Key Words: Solanum tuberosum, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, transformation, somaclonal variation. |
