Agrobacterium mediated transformation of Tunisian Cucumis melo cv. maazoun

  Transgenic Cucumis melo cv. Maazoun containing the neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPT II) chimeric gene conferring resistance to kanamycin were obtained from cotyledons explants inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens (GV3101) that contained the binary vector plasmid pADI. Transformed shoots were obtained on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.50 mgl-1 IAA, 0.10mgl-1 BAP, 0.01 mgl-1 NAA and 6 mgl-1 kinetin. Transformants were selected by using only 100 mgl-1 of kanamycin and 4 days of pre-culture. Putative transformants were confirmed for transgene insertion through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. From the inoculated explants, 6.66% produced transgenic shoots.      Key words: Cucumis melo, genetic transformation, kanamycin, culture medium, PCR analysis.