Agrobacterium induced gall formation in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and formation of shoot-like structures expressing introduced genes.

The objective of this research was to define an in vitro regeneration and transformation system for bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) using six cultivars and one Guatemalan wild accession. The wild accession exhibited the best regeneration response. Only occasional elongation of shoot buds in 'Yolo Wonder L' was achieved by culture in the dark on a medium containing 10 mg/l BA and l mg/l IAA. Transformed shoot buds and leaf-like structures were obtained, showing beta- glucuronidase activity predominantly in the vascular and perivascular tissues, with no indication of contaminating Agrobacterium in the tissues. Attempts to regenerate whole transgenic plants from transformed shoot buds were unsuccessful.