Introduction of Ethylene Insensitivity in Campanula carpatica Flowers by Genetic Manipulation with Etr1-1

The construct containing the etr1-1 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana under control of the flower specific fbp1-promoter from petunia was used to obtain Campanula carpatica Jacq. potted plants with ethylene insensitive flowers. The flowers on the wild type Campanula plants wilted within three days when exposed to 2 mu l L-1 ethylene. The tested transgenic etr1-1 lines had various levels of tolerance against ethylene and the best transgenic line continued to flower for up to 27 days in the presence of exogenous ethylene. The expression of etr1-1 in flowers and buds was confirmed by PCR and RT-PCR. The transgenic plants were fertile without any reduction in rooting ability of cuttings, and they did not differ morphologically from the wild type. T1 progeny, a cross between a wild plant and a transgenic plant possessing ethylene insensitive flowers, showed 1: 1 segregation in terms of ethylene insensitivity and the presence of the transgene.