Agrobacterium infection of five New Zealand fruit crops

Abstract

Kiwifruit, tamarillo, pepino, feijoa, and casimiroa seedlings were inoculated with virulent strains of Agrobacterium. The incidence of transformation, as demonstrated by tumour formation, varied with the particular fruit crop. Tumours were induced on pepino with eight Agrobacterium strains, on casimiroa with seven strains, on kiwifruit and feijoa with six strains, and on tamarillo with two. These results suggest that all five crops should be amenable to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation techniques.

Keywords:

• kiwifruit
• tamarillo
• pepino
• feijoa
• casimiroa
• Agrobacterium-mediated transformation
• tumour
• crown gall
• fruit crops