Groundcherry, also known as husk cherry, is a small, yellow, and highly
nutritious edible fruit with a papery husk. The fruit could be the next
superfood, but some of its undesirable characteristics, such as its growing
habit and extensive fruit drop, must be improved. Thus, scientists from the
Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell University developed a new plant
regeneration and transformation method that can be used to improve
groundcherries. The results are published in the Journal of Plant
Biotechnology.

Cotyledon and hypocotyl explants were tested for plant regeneration but only
the hypocotyl explants successfully regenerated shoots. For transformation,
the hypocotyl explants were infected with A. tumefaciens containing a binary
vector with a reporter gene and selectable marker gene (nptII). After
cocultivation, the explants were cultured on plant regeneration medium and a
DNA amplification technique showed the medium (200mg/L kanamycin) with the
highest transformation efficiency.

According to the authors, their study is the first conduct of A.
tumefaciens-mediated transformation in groundcherry. The findings can help
achieve the groundcherry's full potential for future agricultural
production.

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