Transfer of the ARGOS-LIKE and AtEXPA10 genes into non-transgenic forms of tobacco and the phenotypic effects of their constitutive expression

Hybrid plants were obtained by pollination of a Nicotiana rustica and Nicotiana tabacum Black Cuban cultivar with pollen from transgenic Nicotiana tabacum plants of a Petit Havana SR1 cultivar bearing the ARGOS-LIKE and AtEXPA10 genes. RT-PCR analysis showed high levels of ARGOS-LIKE and AtEXPA10 expression in the hybrids, which resulted in increased sizes of their leaves and stems. The organs of both transgenic and hybrid plants were enlarged due to the enlargement of individual cells. The inheritance was stable, while their phenotypic effects varied from insignificant to levels exceeding those in the parental transgenic plants.