Agrobacterium mediated transfer of chlorsulfuron resistance to commercial flax cultivars

Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying a disarmed Ti-plasmid vector containing a chimeric NPT-ll gene and a mutant acetolactate synthase gene (conferring resistance to the herbicide chlorsulfuron) from Arabidopsis was used to transform flax (Linum usitatissimum) hypocotyl tissue. Transgenic regenerants were recovered from the inoculated tissue and were tested for expression of the foreign genes by leaf callus assays on kanamycin and on chlorsulfuron. Transgenic plants were grown to maturity; selfed progeny were similarly tested to determine segregation pattern for the novel genes, and some were grown in chlorsulfuron containing soil. Lines from two major commercial cultivars express chlorsulfuron resistance in greenhouse tests.