EX VITRO GROWTH OF TRANSFORMED PAPAYA PLANTS CONTAINING A BACTERIAL CITRATE SYNTHASE GENE

Several reports have shown that transgenic plants overproducing organic acids have a higher ability to uptake phosphorus than their non-transgenic controls.
This is due to the fact that organic acids help dissolve phosphates from insoluble compounds in the rizhosphere.
In the present study, papaya embryogenic calli transformed with a citrate synthase gene (gltA gene) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were regenerated, micropropagated in vitro and acclimatized and established under greenhouse conditions.
Plant growth was measured in two transformed lines and non-transformed plants.
There were no differences in ex vitro establishment efficiency in both types of plants; however, 150 days after acclimatization, the plant growth in transformed plants was higher than in controls plants.
This could be associated to an improvement in the acquisition of phosphorus and/or a higher photosynthetic rate found in transformed lines in early growth stages.

II International Symposium on Acclimatization and Establishment of Micropropagated Plants

F. Alatorre-Cobos, C. Talavera M., F. Espadas G., J.M. Santamaría, A. O’Connor S.

acclimatization, gltA gene, citrate, phosphorus, photosynthesis

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.748.15