The regulation of solasodine production by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-transformed roots of Solanum aviculare

Transgenic roots of Solanum spp. containing extra copies of an hmgr gene derived from Artemisia annua have been obtained via transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Hairy root clones of Solanum aviculare which were transgenic for hmgr typically grew faster than those which did not contain extra copies of this gene and also accumulated up to 4.2 times more solasodine when grown under dark, but not light, conditions. The implications of these findings with respect to the regulation of solasodine production in Solanum spp. are considered.