New Vistas are Opened for Sorghum Improvement by Genetic Transformation

Transgenic fertile sorghum plants (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) were obtained by microprojectile bombardment of immature embryo and immature inflorescence explants. Regeneration from the calli was through embryogenesis and organogenesis pathways, resulting in both the uniformly transformed and chimeric plants. Plant regeneration occurred on media supplemented with bialaphos. Microprojectile bombardment resulted in plants resistant to the herbicide and exhibited phosphinothricin acetyltransferase activity. The presence of bar, uMa and luc genes in the T[o] plants was confirmed by Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA. The herbicide resistance was inherited in T[1] plants. Les plantes transgeniques fertiles de surgho (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench ) etaient obtenues par bombardement de microprojectiles d'embryons immatures et d'explants d'inflorescences immatures. La regeneration a partit de cales a lieu a travers l'embryogenese et l'organogenese qui resultent en la formation des plants uniformement transformes et des chimeres. La regeneration des plantes se fait sur des milieux ayant obtenu un supplement de bialaphos. Le bombardement des microprojectiles a abouti a la production des plants resistants aux herbicides et presentant l'activite phosphinothricine acetyltransferase. La presence des genes bar, uida et luc sur les plants T[o] a ete confirmee a l'aide de l'analyse southern blot du DNA genomique. La resistance a l'herbicide etait herite par les plants en T[1].