"In Vitro Flowering" in Tobacco Technique in Indonesia

APETALA1 (AP1) is one of the flowering identity genes that determines the formation of sepal and petal tissues. It can define the pattern of where floral organs arise, as well as determine the development of the floral meristem. Researchers at the Biotechnology Institute for Estate Crops, Sebelas Maret University and Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia cloned an AP1 homologue from cacao flowers by biotechniques coupled with bioinformatics. Examination of phenotypic expression was successfully conducted using genetic modification of tobacco leaf disks through Agrobacterium tumefaciens and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using DNA specific to TcAP1.

The researchers found that reverse transcriptase PCR with total RNA from the leaves of transgenic tobacco plantlets showed that expression levels of the TcAP1 events varied and were comparable to the morphological phenotype of the tobacco plantlets grown in vitro. The cultures expressing TcAP1 at moderate levels developed into intact plantlets and set up flowers in vitro. This "in vitro flowering" can also provide a significant reduction in the time required for seed production and also eliminates concerns surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMO) relating to pollen contamination, either as is or when supplemented with chloroplast transformation by using the in vitro flowering technique.

For more information on this research, visit http://www.ibriec.org/ or email djsantoso@yahoo.com. For information on Indonesian Biotechnology, contact Dewi Suryani of IndoBIC at dewisuryani@biotrop.org