Transformation of black pepper (Piper nigrum L) using Agrobacterium Ti plasmid based vectors

Abstract

Cotyledon explants of the black pepper cultivar ‘Karimunda’ infected with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 harbouring the binary vector PGA 472 and cultured on MS selection medium containing 50µg ml¯ˡ kanamycin and 500 µg ml¯ˡ carbenicillin resulted in 20% explants callusing. Phenotypic assay for confirmation of transformation using higher concentrations of the selective marker, kanamycin, revealed the high degree of tolerance of the transformed tissue as compared to the control.