We have developed a reliable and high-frequency system of transformation and regeneration via somatic embryogenesis (SE) of Lycium barbarum. Leaf segments were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA101 (pIG121Hm) carrying the neomycin phosphotransferase II gene as a selectable marker and an intron-β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene as a reporter marker. On the medium for callus-induction, which contained 50mg l-1 kanamycin (Km), approximately 60% of the explants produced kanamycin-resistant (KmR) calli. After three subcultures on the same selective medium, KmR calli were transferred onto SE induction medium containing 25mg l-1Km, where they produced numerous somatic embryos (166 g-1fresh weight callus) that subsequently developed into KmR plantlets. Compared with the untransformed control calli, the transformed calli maintained their higher frequency of SE up to 16 months after transformation. GUS staining and polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analyses confirmed the integration of the T-DNA into the plant genome.

An effective protocol has been developed for plant regeneration from cotyledon explants of Swainsona salsula Taubert (Saline swainsona), a medicinal and agronomic shrub. Adventitious shoots were obtained from 83.2% of cotyledon explants from 3-day seedlings cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 2.0mgl−1 thidiazuron (TDZ), with an average of 9.3 shoots per explant. Individual elongated shoots were rooted on half strengthMS medium supplemented with 2.0mgl−1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), with 59.3% success. Regenerated plants with well developed shoots and roots were successfully transferred to soil, without detectable variants. Histological observation revealed that shoots developed from cotyledon explants via organogenesis, with little callus.

Using apical and axillary nodes as explants, a rapid and efficient method for propagation of Amorphafruticosa L. has been developed. When grown on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 8mg dm-3 benzyladenine, 100% explants responded with 4.94 shoots per explant after 6-weeks culture, and explants taken from the in vitro proliferated shoots subsequently produced multiple shoots when cultured on the same medium. The addition of casein hydrolysate (200mg dm"3) enhanced the number of shoots up to 8.77 per subculture, and coconut milk was found to promote the shoot elongation and make them grow more vigorously. 82.53% excised shoots were rooted on half-strength MS medium containing 2.0mg dm"3 indoleacetic acid after 3 weeks of incubation. After acclimatization, all of the rooted plantlets established in soil, exhibiting uniform morphological and growth characteristics.