Transgene expression in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) clones propagated in vitro via leaf explants

We have developed an efficient protocol for the in vitro propagation of transgenic broccoli plants using leaf explants as starting material. A high frequency of shoot formation from leaf explants was obtained on Murashige and Skoog medium containing benzyladenine (BA, 5 mg/l) and naphthaleneacetic acid (0.5 mg/l). Frequent subcultures of existing shoots and shoot clusters to medium containing only BA (2 mg/l) promoted rapid shoot multiplication. The use of a 1:1 mixture of Agargel and Gelrite in the rooting medium increased the number of healthy roots per rooted plant. Applying this protocol, we obtained thousands of clonal rooted plantlets within 6 months from a transgenic broccoli plant carrying the cry1Ac and cry1C genes from Bacillus thuringiensis associated with kanamycin and hygromycin selectable markers, respectively. Thirty randomly selected clones that had been propagated for 1 year on medium containing kanamycin (50 mg/l) all showed resistance to both kanamycin and hygromycin. Genomic DNA and total soluble proteins were isolated from 16 of these clones. Polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the cry1Ac and cry1C genes were both maintained. ELISA assays showed that all of the clones produced a high level of Cry1Ac protein similar to the original transgenic plant; however, most clones had significantly lower levels of Cry1C protein than the original plant. This variation indicates that it is important to evaluate transgene expression in transgenic clones propagated long-term in vitro. In vitro propagation starting from leaf explants was also successful with other transgenic and non-transgenic Brassica oleracea materials, including broccoli, cauliflower, and collard.