Production of transgenic Eucalyptus grandis x E-urophylla using the sonication-assisted Agrobacterium transformation (SAAT) system

A method for genetic transformation of germinating seeds and seedlings of Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla is described using the sonication-assisted Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (SAAT) system. Seeds germinated for 2 d, and 15-d-old seedlings, sonicated for 30 s, had the highest percentage of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) transient expression (21.7 and 37.4%, respectively). Pre-sonication greatly enhanced the efficiency of transformation. The differential transformation of tissues was also investigated, with seeds imbibed for 2 d having over 90% of the blue sectors localised in cotyledons and in the intersection of the hypocotyls and roots, whereas in 5-d-old seedlings, 70% of GUS activity was detected in cotyledons. However, 15-17-d-old seedlings had around 60% of transformed sectors localised in the first pair of leaves. The efficiency of the method was also assessed using a chimeric construct containing the Lhcb1*2 gene of the 28 kDa chlorophyll a/b binding pea protein from the LHCII antenna. Four stable transformants were confirmed by genomic blotting.