GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE EPSPS HERBICIDE RESISTANCE GENE IN AGROBACTERIUM MEDIATED PEANUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA L.) AND EFFECTIVE REVIVAL OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS.

The current study was based on Agrobacterium-mediated peanut genetic transformation and effective remediation of transgenic plants. The effect of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 with a binary vector of PxCSG m-YFP 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene has been evaluated on two commercial varieties and on two sources of explants (Embryo and cotyledon), each containing a CaMV 35S promoter. The comparative regeneration and transformation efficiency analyses revealed that the embryo is a better target tissue than cotyledon, and early-ripe peanut genotypes with relatively small seeds (such as Bard-479) have proven to be comparatively responsive to transformation. Explant culture in media containing 3 mg L 1 indole-3-butyric acid and 0.1 mg L 1 napthalene acetic acid resulted in strong roots of virtually all transgenic plants. More than 87% of the transplanted plants were able to produce morphologically normal blooms and pods containing viable seeds. The phenotypic and genotypic monitoring of the EPSPS gene inheritance over two generations exhibited the desired 3:1 inheritance. Our findings suggest that Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is a feasible and valuable tool for peanut breeding and functional genomics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]