Transformation of chilli pepper (Capsicum frutescens) with a phenylalanine ammonia-lyase gene

Hypocotyl explants of chilli pepper (<i>Capsicum frutescens</i>) were inoculated with <i>Agrobacterium rhizogenes</i> strain A13 harbouring the binary vector pBI121, which contains the CaMV 35S promoter linked to the GUS reporter gene. After 4 weeks of culture, the hairy roots produced were transferred onto Schenk and Hildebrandt (SH) medium supplemented with 250mg<i>l</i>^-1 Cefotaxime. Subsequently they were selected in liquid SH medium containing 20mg<i>l</i>^-1 kanamycin. When treated with X-glucuronide, vascular and root tip tissues were predominantly stained. A phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) cDNA from parsley (<i>Petroselinum</i>) was subsequently linked to the 35S promoter and transferred into hairy roots using the same <i>A. rhizogenes</i> strain. Successful transformation was confirmed by Southern hybridisation. Hairy roots containing the PAL transgene showed different PAL activity, slow growth and altered morphology.