Journal of Applied Genetics 45(3), 2004, pp. 307-313

Differences in the inheritance stability of kanamycin resistance between transgenic cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) containing two constructs

Zhimin Yin, Maria Szwacka, Robert Malinowski, Stefan Malepszy

Abstract: A phenotypic segregation of kanamycin resistance conferred by nosnptII was investigated in two groups of transgenic cucumber lines one containing the PR-2duidA-nosnptII construct and the other with the thaumatinII-nosnptII construct to the third and fifth generation, respectively. Expression of the nptII gene was more stable and predictable in the progeny of the PR-2d lines than that of thaumatin lines. In T2 and T3 generations representing seven PR-2d primary transformants, 78% of the hemizygous progenies exhibited a segregation ratio consistent with Mendelian inheritance; non-Mendelian ratio occurred in the remaining 22%. Mendelian segregation was observed in 46% of the hemizygous progenies derived from 11 thaumatin primary transformants. The segregation ratio for two and three independent loci appeared in single PR-2d and thaumatin lines, respectively.

Key words: cucumber, kanamycin resistance, Mendelian segregation, transgene inheritance.

Correspondence: S. Malepszy, Department of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Warsaw Agricultural University, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warszawa, Poland; e-mail: malepszy@alpha.sggw.waw.pl