STABLE TRANSFORMATION OF GLADIOLUS BY PARTICLE GUN BOMBARDMENT OF CORMELS

Transgenic plants of Gladiolus were produced following particle bombar dment of cormel slices. Plant cells were cotransformed with the gene f or phosphinothricin acetyltransferase under control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and the uidA gene coding for beta-glucuroni dase (GUS) under control of the actin promoter isolated from rice. The optimum concentration for the first selection of transformed plants w as 8 mg/l phosphinothricin which resulted in 14% of the bombarded corm el slices regenerating plants that were transformed as confirmed by po lymerase chain reaction amplification. Polymerase chain reaction ampli fication, Southern hybridization and histochemical staining for GUS ge ne expression on plants after two selective screenings with phosphinot hricin indicated that regenerated plants were transformed. Histochemic al staining for GUS gene expression showed that the actin promoter res ulted in GUS gene expression primarily in callus cells and root merist ems. Leaves were typically chimeric for GUS gene expression.