High Frequency Shoot Regeneration and Agrobacterium � Mediated DNA transfer in Red Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Different explants of three cultivars of Capsicum annuum (K1,K2 and PLR 1) were tested for their regeneration response. Shoot tip explants were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium strain EHA 105 carrying a T-DNA with CaMV 35S promoter- gus marker gene from which B-glucuronidase(GUS) is expressed only in plants. Growth of the Agrobacterium was inhibited with cefotaxime. Kanamycin was used as the selective agent for the transformants. The integration of GUS gene in Capsicum genome was confirmed by histochemical GUS staining, PCR analysis and southern analysis.