Transformation of Elite Rice Cultivars ASD16 And IR64 with cry2Ac Gene for Resistance to Rice Lepidopteran Pests

With the view to imparting resistance to major lepidopteran pests of rice, attempts were made to transform elite indica genotype ASD16 and IR64 with cry2Ac gene. Agrobacterium and particle bombardment-mediated transformation were carried out using the vector pS2AcP2 harbouring cry2Ac gene, the selectable marker gene, hph and the scorable marker gene, gusA. In Agrobacterium-mediated transformation experiment with mature seed derived calli, two lines in ASD16 were regenerated with a regeneration frequency of 1.1 per cent. In particle bombardment-mediated transformation experiments with immature embryos, 15 lines in IR64 were regenerated with a regeneration frequency of six per cent. Presence of transgenes in these lines could not be demonstrated through PCR.