GENETIC-TRANSFORMATION OF PELARGONIUM X HORTORUM

Transgenic Pelargonium X hortorum have been produced via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. The regeneration protocol used p rovided a regeneration frequency approximately to 95 percent. Clumps o f regenerants, from cotyledons and hypocotyls of Pelargonium X hortoru m seedlings, were inoculated with the disarmed strain EHA101 of Agroba cterium tumefaciens. This strain contains a binary vector carrying neo mycin phosphotransferase II, hygromycin B phosphotransferase and beta- glucuronidase genes. Selection on the regeneration medium supplemented with hygromycin allowed production of transgenic plants in up to 20% of the inoculated explants. The insertion of foreign DNA was demonstra ted by Southern and polymerase chain reaction analysis: these experime nts indicated that the inserted T-DNA is not full length for most of t he plants. All RO transgenic plants exhibited a normal phenotype and a re fertile.