Production of Herbicide Resistant Transgenic Lily Plants by Particle Bombardment

Calli induced from bulb scales of Lilium X formolongi were bombarded with the plasmid pAct1-F, which harbors the uidA gene encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS) that is driven by the rice actin-1 promoter. Based on the frequency of GUS-expressing cells in the calli, bombardment conditions were optimized. Calli were bombarded with pDM302 harboring the bar gene, encoding phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) that is driven by the actin-1 promoter, and selected for bialaphos resistance. Regenerated bialaphos-resistant lily plants were obtained six months after bombardment. PCR analysis suggested that some of the bialaphos-resistant plants were transgenic. Transgenic bialaphos-resistant plants displayed PAT activity and resistance to bialaphos-based herbicide.