Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana with Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Transformed Arabidopsis thaliana plants have been produced by a modified leaf disk transformation-regeneration method. Leaf pieces from sterilely grown plants were precultured for 2 days and inoculated with an Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain containing an avirulent Ti (tumor-inducing) plasmid with a chimeric gene encoding hygromycin resistance. After cocultivation for 2 days, the leaf pieces were placed on a medium that selects for hygromycin resistance. Shoots regenerated within 3 months and were excised, rooted, and transferred to soil. Transformation was confirmed by opine production, hygromycin resistance, and DNA blot hybridization of both primary transformants and progeny. This process for producing transgenic Arabidopsis plants should enhance the usefulness of the species for experimental biology.