Herbicide-tolerant transgenic pineapple (Ananas comosus) produced by microprojectile bombardment

Abstract

Transformed plants of the commercially important Thai pineapple (Ananas comosus 'Phuket') were produced following microprojectile-mediated delivery of the plasmid AHC25, carrying the β-glucuronidase (gus) reporter gene and the bialaphos resistance (bar) gene for herbicide tolerance, into leaves of micropropagated shoots. Transformed plants were regenerated from bombarded leaf bases on Murashige and Skoog-based medium containing 0.5 mg l-1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2.0 mg l-1 6-benzylamino purine and 0.5 mg l-1 phosphinothricin. Integration and expression of the bar gene in regenerated plants was confirmed by Southern analysis and RT-PCR, respectively. Regenerated plants were assessed in vitro and under glasshouse conditions for their tolerance to the commercial herbicide Basta™, containing glufosinate ammonium as the active component. Plants sprayed with Basta™ containing concentrations of glufosinate ammonium up to 1400 mg l-1 remained healthy and retained their pigmentation. The generation of herbicide-tolerant pineapple will facilitate more efficient weed control in this widely cultivated tropical crop. © 2001 Annals of Botany Company.