Growth and In Vitro Propagation of Peach Plants Transformed with the Shooty Mutant Strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] plants #94-1, #99-1, and #40-1, carrying a cytokinin biosynthesis (ipt) gene following transformation with the shooty mutant strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, were evaluated for altered growth habit and axillary shoot formation, both in vitro and in the greenhouse. After 9 weeks of in vitro propagation on four different levels of 6-benzyladenine (BA), only transformant #99-1 exhibited significantly greater axillary shoot formation (on 10 μm BA), and significantly greater fresh mass (on 3,10, and 30 μm BA) than the control #RG-3. Tolerance to a supra-optimal (30 μm) concentration of BA was indicated by fresh mass increases for #99-1 shoot cultures. Delayed senescence on 0 μm BA was exhibited by 87% of the transformants, but by only 12% of the control plants. Greenhouse-grown #99-1 and #40-1 were significantly shorter than #RG-3 plants at 6 weeks and at 1 year, but only #40-1 exhibited significantly greater branching than the controls. Chemical names used: 6-benzyladenine (BA); isopentenyl transferase (ipt).