Gelling agent influences the detrimental effect of kanamycin on adventitious budding in flax

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) hypocotyls were cultivated on regeneration me dia containing various concentrations of kanamycin (an aminoglycoside antib iotic commonly used to select transgenic plant material) solidified with th ree different gelling agents: gellan gum, agar and a mixture of both. The i nhibitory effect of kanamycin on bud regeneration was analyzed. A significa nt interaction was observed between the nature of the gelling agent and the kanamycin concentration. The antibiotic concentration needed to strongly i nhibit bud production varied greatly with the nature of the gelling agent. Gellan gum lowered the inhibitory effect of kanamycin.