Factors influencing T-DNA transfer from Agrobacterium to precultured immature wheat embryos (Triticum aestivum L.)

We have studied several factors influencing the transfer of the T-DNA from Agrobacterium to wheat cells. Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes strains were screened using immature zygotic embryos from the two wheat varieties Bobwhite and Lona (Triticum aestivum L.). Transient T-DNA transfer to plant cells was shown using a beta-glucuronidase (gus)-intron marker gene. A. rhizogenes LBA9402 transferred the T-DNA efficiently to wheat cells, where it was highly expressed. The efficiency of T-DNA transfer was influenced by the cocultivation time, the Agrobacterium concentration and the preculture time of the isolated immature embryos before inoculation.