GENERATION OF TRANSGENIC EUCALYPTUS-GLOBULUS PLANTLETS THROUGH AGROBACTERIUM-TUMEFACIENS-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION

A procedure for genetic transformation of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. using Agrobacterium tumefaciens is described. Young seedlings obtained from mature seeds were chosen as target material. The most important factors affecting transformation efficiency were the nature of the A. tumefaciens strain, precultivation of the seedlings and wounding of th e tissues. The optimised procedure allowed us to obtain the first tran sgenic plants for E. globulus. On selective medium, 1.2% of the inocul ated seedlings regenerated shoots resistant to kanamycin and expressin g the gusA gene. Molecular evidence for the presence of stably integra ted T-DNA is provided for two plants.