Abstract

Transformed olive plants were regenerated from inoculated somatic embryos withAgrobacterium tumefacience strain GV3101, which carries the plasmid pBI-P5CScontaining Arabidopsis thaliana P5CS cDNA, kanamycin marker (nptП) gene anduidA reporter gene. Initially, repetitively embryogenic cultures were established from radicles and cotyledonary segments of mature olive zygotic embryos. Single somatic embryos at cotyledon stage were used for transformation. Through repetitive somatic embryogenesis, non-chimer secondary embryos were selected and propagated on kanamycin containing medium. Resistant embryos were converted to plantlets by subjecting them to desiccation. Transformation and P5CS gene expression was confirmed by β-glucuronidase (GUS) assay polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR analysis.

Key words:  Olea europaea, somatic embryogenesis, transformation, β-glucronidase, P5CS gene.

Abbreviation

GUS, β-Glucuronidase; IBA, indole-3-butyric acid; 2ip, N⁶ (2-isopentenyl) adenine; NAA, naphtaleneacetic acid; BA, 6-benzyladenine; Km,kanamycin; OMc, olive medium in which macroelements were replaced with the ones

proposed by Bourgin and Nitch;  IBA, indole-3-butyric; CTAB, cetyl trimethylammonium bromide; DEPC, diethylpyrocarbonate.