An efficient protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of Antirrhinum majus

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) is a popular ornamental and model plant species, and the recently released reference genome could greatly boost its utilization in fundamental research. However, the lack of an efficient genetic transformation system is still a major limiting factor for its full application in genetic and molecular studies. In this study, a simple method for quick regeneration and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of snapdragon was developed. Cotyledon petiole and hypocotyl explants derived from two-week-old seedlings were cultured on MS media supplemented with 2 mg/L zeatin (ZT), 0.2 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and 2 mg/L AgNO3, and adventitious shoots were regenerated through organogenesis with an average regeneration of 48.00% and 41.33%, respectively. By contrast, the regeneration frequency was only 22.67% for cotyledon petiole and 25.67% for hypocotyl explants in the absence of AgNO3. Moreover, the application of AgNO3 promoted indirect shoot organogenesis, while direct shoot organogenesis occurred in the absence of AgNO3 from both hypocotyl or cotyledon petiole explants. Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation systems were developed with this high-efficient regeneration system. The transformation efficiency has been improved from 0 to 1% through the direct shoot organogenesis to 3 to 4% via the indirect shoot organogenesis. This efficient regeneration and genetic transformation method could be important for future use of snapdragon as a model plant to address some fundamental questions which are hard to be solved by using other model plant species, and to accelerate the breeding process through CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. Genetic transformation of snapdragon was significantly improved by applying AgNO3 to induce indirect organogenesis, which will substantially facilitate its fundamental research as well as molecular breeding.