Establishment of protocol for genetic transformation of carnation with 1-aminocyclopropane-carboxylate deaminase (acdS) gene

This study was conducted to develop an Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocol for the carnation cv. “Jinju” to counteract its ethylene sensitivity. The new protocol involves the use of an improved shoot regeneration medium, optimized minimal concentrations of the selective agent, a pre-culture period, and co-cultivation periods. Silver nanoparticles (NAg) added at a concentration of 2.0 µM to the Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal shoot regeneration medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L indole-3-butyric-acid (IBA) and 0.2 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ) improved the shoot regeneration efficiency, number of shoots per explant, and plant growth compared to the control without the addition of NAg. The phosphinothricin (PPT) concentration of 1.0 mg/L was determined to be the minimal and optimal concentration for the selection of putative transgenic plants. When the explants were infected with Agrobacterium cells harboring the acdS gene, the explants that were pre-cultured for three days induced more putative transgenic plants than those that were co-cultivated for four days. Therefore, we expect that the results of this study will benefit researchers who are developing genetic transformations of carnations.