PRODUCTION OF FERTILE TRANSGENIC PEANUT (ARACHIS-HYPOGAEA L) PLANTS USING AGROBACTERIUM-TUMEFACIENS

Fertile transgenic plants of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. New Mexic o Valencia A) were produced using an Agrobacterium-mediated transforma tion system, Leaf section explants were inoculated with A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 harboring the binary vector pBI121 containing the genes for beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTI I). Approximately 10% of the shoots regenerated on selection medium we re GUS-positive. Five independent transformation events resulted in th e production of 52 fertile transgenic peanut plants. On average, 240 d were required between seed germination for explant preparation and th e production of mature T-1 seed by T-0 plants, Molecular analysis of t ransgenic plants confirmed the stable integration of the transgenes in to the peanut genome. GUS expression segregated in a 3:1 Mendelian rat io in most T-1 generation plants.