AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION WITH GLYCINE MAX CHALCONE ISOMERASE 1A GENE IN TOBACCO: A MODEL FOR OVEREXPRESSION OF GMCHI1A GENE IN SOYBEAN PLANTS

Abstract

Isoflavones are natural products in soybean seed germs, including glycosides and aglucones, of which aglucone is easily absorbed for human, but very low in content. Therefore, the content of aglucone enhanced in soybean seeds through the application of biotechnology are necessary. Isoflavones are produced  via a branch of the general phenylpropanoid pathway and are involved in many enzymes, of which chalcone isomerase is the key enzyme. The studies showed that the overexpression of the CHI gene increases the isoflavone content in transgenic plants. In this study, we present the results of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with GmCHI1A gene from soybean plants into tobacco and created transgenic plants. From 90 transformed samples, thirty transgenic tobacco plants were created and they grew normally under greenhouse conditions, transgenic efficiency was 33.33%. Twenty-two transgenic tobacco plants were identified to contain the GmCHI1A transgenic gene by PCR and the transgenic efficiency was 24.44%. The GmCHI1A transgene was confirmed to be expressed in tobacco by RT-PCR analysis. These results are the basis for further research on overexpression of GmCHI1A gene in transgenic soybean plants.