Morphological and physiological characteristics of transgenic cherry tomato mutant with HBsAg gene

HBsAg gene was previously introduced into cherry tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum var. cerasiforme) by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. To investigate the side effect of HBsAg gene in cherry tomato, we analyzed morphological and physiological characteristics of the transgenic mutant N244. The process was performed under field conditions. The results suggested that the mutant N244 exhibited morphological, cytological and physiological variation. First of all, compared with the wild plants NK, N244 had fleshy and dark green leaves, the fewer notches of leaf edge, more adventitious roots and barren seeds. Moreover, the chromosome of N244 were found to be triploid (n = 36) by flow cytometric analysis. Furthermore, N244 has obvious physiological alterations, as compared to NK. It was speculated that transformation of the genes probably led to ploidy variation, and further caused phenotype and physiological changes of plants. Our study will reveal side effects of the mutants, and promote cultivation of transgenic plants in the field.