NICOTINE CONTENT IN TRANSFORMED HAPLOID AND DIHAPLOID TISSUES OF TOBACCO (NICOTIANA-TABACUM-L)

Three anther-derived haploid and three haploid-derived dihaploid tissu e lines of tobacco were transformed with three strains of Agrobacteriu m tumefaciens: B6S3, pGV2215 and pGV2255. Unorganised, shooty and root y tumours were induced, respectively. Tumour morphology and the growth rate of transformed tissues depended mainly on the bacterial strain. The presence of T-DNA genes in transformed tissues was confirmed by po lymerase chain reaction (PCR). By means of high performance liquid chr omatography (HPLC) nicotine was found only in the control plants and i n the roots transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens pGV2255. Its co ntent did not depend on the ploidy level of the tissue. Transformed ro ots could not be subcultured because of callogenesis. The callus which overgrew transformed roots did not produce nicotine.