Genetic transformation of mature embryos of bread (T. aestivum) and pasta (T. durum) wheat genotypes.

The objective of the present study is to develop an efficient protocol for regeneration of transgenic wheat plants using Agrobacterium- mediated transformation of mature embryos of hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and tetraploid pasta wheat (Triticum durum). The data indicated that embryogenic calli were formed within 7 days in the presence of 2 mgl-1 2,4-D. Adventitious shoots emerged from the embryonic calli in the presence of 2 mgl-1 BA. Shoot regeneration frequency varied between wheat cultivars according to their genetic background differences. Regeneration frequency was higher in the cultivar Gemmiza 10 (95 %) compared with the other cultivars tested. Mature embryos derived callus of the cultivars Gemmiza 10 and Gemmiza 9 were co-cultivated with A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring a binary vector pBI-121 containing the neomycin phosphotransferase-II gene (npt-II). The resulted putative transgenic plantlets were able to grow on kanamycin containing medium. A successful integration of the transgene was confirmed by analyzing the T0 plantlets using Southern hybridization and PCR amplification. The gus gene expression can be detected only in the transgenic plants. The reported protocol is reproducible and can be used to regenerate transgenic wheat plants expressing the genes present in A. tumifaciens binary vectors.