Electroporation stimulates tranformation of freshly isolated cell suspension protoplasts ofSolanum dulcamara byAgrobacterium.

Freshly isolated cell suspension protoplasts ofSolanum dulcamara were mixed withAgrobacterium rhizogenes, allowed to settle for 2 h, exposed to electrical pulses and further incubated for 2h. Two pulses of 600 V cm(-1) for 2 msec separated by 15 sec produced transformed colonies at relative and absolute transformation frequencies which were 3-4 and 10 fold greater than those obtained by co-cultivation of 3 days old protoplast-derived cells with bacteria. Transformed colonies were not produced when freshly isolated protoplasts were mixed withAgrobacterium but not electroporated. Biochemical analysis confirmed the transgenic nature of plants regenerated from protoplast-derived tissues.