Method for the commercial production of transgenic plants

Abstract

A process for commercially propagating plants by tissue culture in such a way as both to conserve desired plant morphology and to transform the plant with respect to one or more desired genes. The method includes the steps of (a) creating an Agrobacterium vector containing the gene sequence desired to be transferred to the propagated plant, preferably together with a marker gene; (b) taking one or more petiole explants from a mother plant and inoculating them with the Agrobacterium vector; (c) conducting callus formation in the petiole sections in culture, in the dark; and (d) culturing the resulting callus in growth medium containing a benzylamino growth regulator such as benzylaminopurine or, most preferably, benzylaminopurineriboside. Additional optional growth regulators including auxins and cytokinins (indole butyric acid, benzylamine, benzyladenine, benzylaminopurine, alpha naphthylacetic acid and others known in the art) may also be present. Preferably, the petiole tissue is taken from and the Agrobacterium vector contains an antisense gene for ACC synthase or ACC oxidase to prevent ACC synthase or ACC oxidase expression and, in turn, the ethylene formation for which these enzymes are precursors.