High Efficiency in Planta Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation in Lilium cv. Pavia

Absence of an efficient genetic transformation technique acts as a major barrier for development of new lily cultivars with desirable characters. Here we report a callus freein planta Agrobacterium mediated transformation protocol for the Lilium cv. Pavia. Tiny shoot buds obtained directly from the basal portion of the Lililum scales were used for Agrobacterium infection. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LB4404 harboring pCAMBIA 3301 vector was used for transformation. Putative transformants were selected on a selection media containing L-phosphinithricin. Further these putative transformants were confirmed by PCR analysis using primers specific for gus and bar gene. An average transformation efficiency of 31% was obtained using in planta transformation of Lilium shoot buds. The high efficiency and rapidity of this protocol make it suitable for commercial application and for future research on this valuable ornamental plant.