Petunia (Petunia hybrida).

Area of Science:

• Plant biotechnology
• Molecular biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Genetic transformation is crucial for understanding plant biochemical pathways and gene expression.
• Petunia hybrida is a model organism for studying floral traits and developing commercial varieties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a simple and reproducible genetic transformation protocol for Petunia hybrida.
• To enable the generation of transgenic petunia plants for research and commercial purposes.

Main Methods:

• Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transgene integration into Petunia hybrida leaf explants.
• Plant recovery through shoot organogenesis.
• Selection of transgenic events using bar (glufosinate resistance) or nptII (kanamycin resistance) genes.

Main Results:

• Achieved transformation efficiencies of approximately 10%.
• Recovered shoots 8 weeks post-insertion and transferred rooted plants to the greenhouse within 12 weeks.
• Successfully generated transgenic petunia plants harboring genes of interest.

Conclusions:

• The described protocol provides a reliable method for creating transgenic Petunia hybrida.
• This system supports genetic research and the development of novel floral characteristics.