Production of fertile transgenic peanut (Arachis hypogaea L) plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Fertile transgenic plants of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. New Mexico Valencia A) were produced using an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system, Leaf section explants were inoculated with A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 harboring the binary vector pBI121 containing the genes for beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII). Approximately 10% of the shoots regenerated on selection medium were GUS-positive. Five independent transformation events resulted in the production of 52 fertile transgenic peanut plants. On average, 240 d were required between seed germination for explant preparation and the production of mature T-1 seed by T-0 plants, Molecular analysis of transgenic plants confirmed the stable integration of the transgenes into the peanut genome. GUS expression segregated in a 3:1 Mendelian ratio in most T-1 generation plants.