Transgenic yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus)

Transgenic yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.) plants have been generated by meristem co-cultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The binary plasmid pPZBNIa contains the bar gene under the control of a CaMV 35 S promoter. The transformation method involves inoculation of embryonic axis explants with A. tumefaciens, flooding the meristem with glufosinate, and initial culture on non-selective medium. Shoots were transferred to culture medium containing 20 mg/l glufosinate. Following subculture, shoots were grafted onto non-transgenic narrow-leafed lupin (L. angustifolius L.) seedling rootstocks, or rooted in vitro. The overall transformation efficiency, as determined at the T₁ generation, was 0.05%-0.75%. The transgenic nature of plants grown to the T₆ generation was confirmed by phosphinothricin acetyl transferase, PCR and Southern analyses.