Abstract: Leaf discs of potato (Solanum tuberosum) "Dongnong 303” sterile seedlings were inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58C1 harbouring a helper plasmid pGV2260 and a binary vector plasmid pPZH1. Wounded leaves formed kanamycin-resistant calli on a selective medium. The transformation rates ranged from 4 % to 38 % for different varieties. Regenerated transgenic plantlets confirmed by NPT Ⅱ (neomycin phosphotransferase) activity assay and DNA hybridization have been obtained. The data of amino acid assay revealed that the contents of most amino acids of the transgenic microtubers displayed various increments as compared with those of control microtubers and that the content of total amino acids increased by 96.1% over the control.

Key words: Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, Transgenic potato plantlets, Zein-high essential amino acid encoding fusion gene, Amino acid assay