Genetic transformation of Lycium barbarum L. via A. tumefaciens

A system for transformation and regeneration of Lycium barbarum L., an important Chinese medical plant, has been established. Young stem segments from Lycium barbarum L. were infected with Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58cl(pGV3850::neo1103), and the transformed calli selected from the callus induction medium containing 50 micrograms/ml kanamycin could regenerate buds on differentiation medium containing 25 micrograms/ml kanamycin. 30% of the regenerated buds were normal in morphology. The normal buds could develop into whole plantlets after they were transferred to the rooting medium to induce roots. Nopaline detection, NPT-II enzyme activity assay and Southern blotting hybridization indicated that the foreign genes had been integrated into the genome of Lycium barbarum L. and expressed in the plant. In the processes of experiments, it was found that (i) after the pre-processes, the explants which formed callus quickly were easy to transform; (ii) the rate of normal regenerated plants from transgenic calli was higher than that from the untransgenic ones.