Identification of highly transformable wheat genotypes for mass production of fertile transgenic plants.

The efficiency of wheat biolistic transformation systems strongly depends on the bombardment parameters, the condition of the donor plant, and the plant genotype chosen for the transformation process. This paper analyzes the transformation efficiency of the 129 wheat sister lines generically called 'Bobwhite', originally obtained from the cross 'Aurora'//'Kalyan'/'Bluebird 3'/'Woodpecker'. A number of factors influencing the transformation were examined, such as the ability to produce embryogenic callus, regeneration in selection medium, and overall transformation performance. Of the 129 genotypes evaluated, eight demonstrated transformation efficiencies above 60% (60 independent transgenic events per 100 immature embryos bombarded). Among the eight genotypes identified, we studied agronomic characteristics such as earliness to identify the most adaptable line(s) for different lab conditions. 'Bobwhite' SH 98 26 was identified as a super-transformable wheat line.