Expression of the bar gene confers herbicide resistance in transgenic lettuce

Resistance to bialaphos, a broad-spectrum herbicide, was introduced into Lactuca sativa cv. Evola by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. A. tumefaciens strains 0310 and 1310, both carrying the bialaphos resistance (bar) and neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) genes, were used for transformation. Primary transformants were selected on kanamycin sulphate-supplemented shoot regeneration medium. Integration of both transgenes was confirmed by non-radioactive Southern hybridisation. The hypervirulent plasmid ToK47 in A. tumefaciens strain 1310 generated multiple insertions of T-DNA in some transgenic plants; the absence of pToK47 (strain 0310) resulted in single gene inserts in all plants tested. Resistance to glufosinate ammonium was observed in axenic seedlings grown on medium supplemented with the herbicide at 5 mgl(-1) and in glasshouse-grown plants sprayed with the compound at 300 mg l(-1). Stable expression of the bar gene was observed in R2 generation plants. The kanamycin resistance of R1 seedlings was observed by germinating seeds on medium supplemented with 200 mg l(-1) kanamycin sulphate. The presence of NPTII protein and PAT enzyme activity were demonstrated by ELISA and PAT enzyme assay respectively. Transgenes segregated in a Mendelian fashion in some plant lines in the R1 generation; herbicide resistance also segregated in the expected ratio in the R2 generation in most transgenic lines. This study confirmed that an agronomically important transgene can be integrated and stably expressed over several generations in lettuce.