Summary
Colour is the major contributor to the total ornamental value of a flower. The combination of biochemical knowledge and genetic engineering technology has resulted in the addition of a new colour to the existing colour range of Petunia hybrida. This has been achieved by expression of the maize dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (dfr) gene in a suitable petunia acceptor which leads to the accumulation of pelargonidin-derived pigments in flowers. The resulting flower colour, however, was a pale brick-red, which is commercially unattractive in petunia.
Our objective was to produce a product suitable for commercialisation by introducing the dfr gene into our breeding material via normal sexual recombination. Although the initial transformant exhibited many negative characteristics, first analyses indicated that it was feasible to obtain suitable material for creating commercial hybrids. Experimental hybrids based on F4 lines were obtained with improved phenotypic expression of the orange flower colour in combination with a good general performance.
In order to assess consumer-related characteristics, selected experimental hybrids were tested under field conditions. All transgenic plants had a normal appearance when compared with non-transgenic control plants. No linkage was observed between the transgenic trait and any negative characteristic. From these studies it can be concluded that through a combination of biochemistry, breeding and genetic engineering, it is possible to generate unique flower colours in a cultivars with commercial potential.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bianchi, F., 1959. Onderzoeknaar erfelijkheid van de bloemvorm bijPetunia. Academischproefschrift, Amsterdam.
Brouillard, R.,1993. The in vivo expression of anthocyanin colour in plants.Phytochemistry 22, 6: 1311–1323.
Everett, T.H.,1981. The New York Botanical Garden Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Garland, NewYork and London: 3596 pp.
Gerats, A.G.H., P. de Vlaming, M.Doodeman, B. Al & A.W. Schram, 1982. Genetic control of the conversion ofdihy- droflavonols into flavonols and anthocyanins in flowers ofPetuniahybrida. Planta155:364–368.
Linn, F., I. Heidmann,H.Saedler & P. Meyer, 1990. Epigenetic changes in the expression of the maizeA1-gene in petunia; Role of numbers of integrated copies and state of methylation.Mol.Gen.Genet. 222: 329–336.
Meer van der, I.M., A.R.Stuitje & J.N.M. Mol, 1991. Regulation of general phenylpropanoid andflavonoid gene expression. In: D.P.S. Verma (Ed.). Control of plantgene expression, Telford Press.
Meyer, P., I. Heidmann,G. Forkmann & H. Saedler,1987. A new petunia flower colour generated by transformation of a mutant witha maize gene. Nature 330: 677–678.
Meyer, P., L. Felicitas,I. Heidmann,H.Meyer, I. Niedenhof & H. Saedler, 1992. Endogenous and environmentalfactors influence 35S promoter methylation of a maize Al gene construct intransgenic petunia and its colour phenotype. Mol. Gen. Genet. 231:345–352.
Meyer, P., I. Heidmann & L.Niedenhof, 1993. Differences in DNA methylation are associated with aparamutation phenomenon in transgenic petunia. Plant Journal 4: 89–100.
Munz, P.A., 1968. ACalifornia Flora. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles:1681 pp.
Schwarz-Sommer, Z., L. Leclerq,E. Göbel&H. Saedler, 1987. Cin4, an insert altering the structure of the A1 gene inZea mays, exhibits properties of nonviral retrotransposons.EMBO J. 2: 287–294.
Stotz, G., P. den Vlaming, H. Wiering, A.W. Schram &G. Fork- mann, 1985. Genetic and biochemical studies on flavonoid-3′-hydroxylation inflowers ofPetunia hybrida. Theor. Appl. Genet. 70: 300–305.
Wiering, H., 1974. Genetics of flowercolour inPetunia hybridaHort. Genen Phaenen 17 (1-2):117–134.
Willis, J.C.,1973. A Dictionary of the Flowering Plants and Ferns. Eighth Edition. CambridgeUniversity Press. Cambridge et alibi: 1245 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Oud, J.S.N., Schneiders, H., Kool, A.J., van Grinsven, M.Q.J.M. (1995). Breeding of transgenic orange Petunia hybrida varieties. In: Cassells, A.C., Jones, P.W. (eds) The Methodology of Plant Genetic Manipulation: Criteria for Decision Making. Developments in Plant Breeding, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0357-2_49
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0357-2_49
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4159-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-0357-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive