Effects of Antibiotics on Suppression of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Plant Regeneration from Wheat Embryo

Antibiotics used for suppressing Agrobacterium in plant transformation procedure might have negligible effects on plant tissues and regeneration. The effects of antibiotics on growth suppression of Agrobacterium and plant regeneration were investigated for enhancing Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using wheat mature embryos. Antibiotics tested, except carbenicillin, were able to suppress that embryos were coated with a layer of Agrobacterium cells in callus induction medium. Agrobacterium growth was suppressed minimally at 50 mg/l of timentin, while cefotaxime and clavamox were completely suppressed at relative high concentration of 250 mg/l. In the treatment of carbenicillin, initiation of growth suppression of Agrobacterium occurred at 750 mg/l of concentration because Agrobacterium KYRT1 contains the carbenicillin resistant gene. In Agrobacterium inoculation, effects of antibiotics were significantly different on the rate of callus induction and shoot formation. Almost embryos were induced calli at 50 mg/l of timentin whereas callus induction rate was achieved above 90% at 100 mg/l and 250 mg/l of cefotaxime and clavamox, respectively. Shoot formation rate was higher in the treatment of timentin than that of cefotaxime and clavamox at 500 mg/l of concentration, respectively. Timentin can be used as a good antibiotics in Agrobacterium-mediated wheat transformation.