Nicotiana (Nicotiana tobaccum, Nicotiana benthamiana)

Abstract

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Nicotiana species, namely, Nicotiana tobaccum and Nicotiana benthamiana, using leaf disks as the target explant has provided the plant community with a valuable tool for rapid evaluation of transgenes in higher plants. This protocol has a number of desirable attributes: readily available explant material, high efficiency, and a relatively quick turnaround time. The in vitro regeneration scheme of the leaf disks is prolific and follows an indirect organogenic differentiation. N. tobaccum and N. benthamiana are highly susceptible to a variety of disarmed A. tumefaciens strains, and the transformation system is amenable to a number of selection agents. This protocol has proved to be easily transferable to a point at which a single investigator with minimal training can generate thousand of events per year. Moreover, seed size and quantity per event permit monitoring of segregation in Petri plates, and sufficient biomass can be accrued from an individual plant, which can be either clonally propagated or allowed to self-pollinate or easily outcrossed.