Efficient Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Alfalfa Using Secondary Somatic Embryogenic Callus

알팔파의 이차 캘러스를 이용한 Agrobacterium에 의한 효율적인 형질 전환

An efficient method for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of forage crop alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was established using secondary somatic embryogenic calli. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHAlOl and a binary vector pIG121-Hm which has selection markers for kanamycin and hygromycin have been shown to be an efticient materials for alfalfa transformation. The secondary somatic embryogenic calli originated from hypocotyl explants of alfalfa were efficient infection materials for Agrobacterium EHAlOl and normally germinated into plantlets. The introduced gene (GUS) was constitutively expressed in all tissues of transgenic alfalfa with different expression levels. These results indicate that the use of pIG121-Hm vector, Agrobacterium EHAlOl and improved culture system of callus facilitate the transformation of alfalfa. (Key words : Agrobacterium, Alfalfa, Gene transfer, Transformation)