A review on agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocols of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) / Afiq Ridzuan Mohamed

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the important vegetable crops around the world and also a suitable model plant for genetic study. Efficient transformation of tomato plant is important in order to get thorough understanding on a gene through functional study. However, the efficiency of genetic transformation of a plant depends on many factors. Hence, the purpose of this study is to assess and compare different transformation protocols of tomato. The transformation frequency of transient and stable transformation has been studied. To produce stable transformant, the transformation of tomato can be achieved through tissue culture-based and in planta transformation methods. There are several factors affecting the efficiency of tomato transformation including cultivar, explant, Agrobacterium strains, binary vector, temperature, co-cultivation period, pre-culture, incubation period, reporter gene expression and antibiotic concentration used of transformed tissue. All of these factors will determine the success of genetic transformation in tomato. The transformation of tomato cotyledon and stem explants was successfully performed through tissue culture-based transformation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This review revealed that in planta transformation method is more efficient compared to tissue culture-based method.