INDUCTION OF TUMORS IN ANTHURIUM-ANDRAEANUM BY AGROBACTERIUM-TUMEFACIENS

A method was devised for infecting Anthurium andraeanum Linden ex Andre, an economically important ornamental monocot, with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Tumors were obtained on plant stems 7 to 10 weeks after inoculation with oncogenic A. tumefaciens strains C58 and A281 cultured previously in an induction medium containing 200-mu-M acetosyringone at pH 5.5. A higher percentage of tumors were formed in vitro on etiolated internodes (32%) than on green leaf (2%) or petiole explants (3%) 4 weeks after inoculation with induced C58. All explants treated with nontumorigenic A. radiobacter or with induction medium alone failed to produce tumors. Chromatograms showed an accumulation of nopaline in internode explant tumors induced with C58. DNA amplification and hybridization studies showed that the DNA from these tumors, but not from noninoculated anthurium tissue, contained sequences homologous to the nopaline synthase gene of A. tumefaciens T-DNA. Chemical names used: 3,5-dimethoxy 4-hydroxyacetophenone (acetosyringone).