Cytokinin-Enhanced Regeneration of Plants From Microprojectile Bombarded Sugarcane Meristematic Tissue

Abstract

Sugarcane plants expressing the firefly luciferase gene were regenerated from microprojectile-bombarded meristematic tissue. The concentration and type of cytokinin added to the basal media, both prior to bombardment and during regeneration, significantly affected the number of plantlets produced and the percentage of plantlets expressing luciferase. Maximum shoot initiation from meristematic tissue of sugarcane cultivar Q137 was achieved on media supplemented with N⁶-benzylaminopurine (BAP). There were differences in the numbers of shoots initiated from different sugarcane cultivars, and some optimisation for each cultivar was required. No luciferase activity was observed in plantlets regenerated in the absence of cytokinin. Sugarcane meristematic tissue preconditioned by exposure to cytokinin appears to be a suitable target tissue for the introduction of genes of agronomic importance into sugarcane. This approach should be readily adaptable to most commercial varieties of sugarcane with minor modification to the cytokinin treatment necessary for optimal regeneration.