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Improve peanut transformation protocols to enhance the recovery of fertile transgenic plants. Transform peanut with new generation of synthetic gene encoding cecropin analogs. Transform peanut with gene encoding antifungal protein, osmotin, from tobacco.
The gene transfer system for stable transformation of peanut will be improved to enhance recovery of transgenic peanut. Mature rather than immature embryos will be transformed with antifungal genes. The time over which cultures are carried prior to transformation will be greatly reduced. Regeneration and rooting protocols have been modified resulting in a reduction of time required for flowering following the biolistic bombardment technique for plant transformation. This results in significant improvement in fertility which was a problem in the previous project. Experiments will be initiated to transform peanut with new versions of synthetic antifungal peptides with improved antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus. Peanuts transformed with stably expressed peptide genes should enhance host plant resistance to invasion by A. flavus and coincident aflatoxin contamination of peanut by this fungus.