Meropenem and moxalactam:: Novel β-lactam antibiotics for efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

We evaluated the usefulness of novel beta-lactam antibiotics, meropenem (MEPM) and moxalaetam (LMOX) for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tobacco, tomato and rice in comparison with commonly used beta-lactams, carbenicillin (CBPC) and cefotaxime (CTX). Although antibacterial activities of beta-lactams varied among transformation systems, MEPM at 25 mg l(-1) completely suppressed overgrowth of Agrobacterium in all systems. In transformation of tobacco, tomato and rice, MEPM at 6.25-25 mg l(-1) and LMOX at 6.25-50 mg l(-1) led to a higher transformation efficiency than CBPC and CTX. We concluded that introduction of MEPM or LMOX at 25 mg l(-1) for non-beta-lactamase-producing strains and MEPM at 25 mg l(-1) or LMOX at 50 mg l(-1) for beta-lactamase-producing strains, respectively, to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation may be a simple and efficient strategy to improve transformation efficiency of many plant species without modification of existing protocols. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.