AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION OF PEANUT (ARACHIS-HYPOGAEA L) EMBRYO AXES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS

Transgenic peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plants have been produced usin g an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system. Zygotic embryo axes from mature seed were cocultured with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strai n EHA101 harboring a binary vector that contained the genes for the sc orable marker B-glucuronidase (GUS) and the selectable marker neomycin phosphotransferase II. Nine percent of the germinated seedlings were GUS+. Polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed that GUS+ shoots an d T-1 progeny contained T-DNA. Molecular characterization of one prima ry transformant and its T-1 and T-2 progeny plants established that T- DNA was integrated into the host genome.