Production of transgenic plants via Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of Panax ginseng.

Hairy roots of Panax ginseng were obtained after root disks were infected with wild-type strain Agrobacterium rhizogenes 15834. Three lines of hairy roots with different pigmentation were selected. Embryogenic callus was induced on Murashige and Skoog medium containing 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D. The frequency of embryogenic callus formation was 37.4% in a line with red pigmentation. Somatic embryo development from embryogenic callus was efficiently achieved by lowering the concentration of 2,4-D (0.5 mg/l). After the germination of somatic embryos on medium with 10 mg/l GA3, the embryos were transferred to 1/2-MS medium without GA3. The transformed ginseng plantlets had an actively growing root system with abundant lateral roots. The phenotypical alteration of transformed ginseng plants might be valuable character for increasing root yield.