Genetic Transformation of Tobacco for Resistance to Basta®

Three tobacco cultivars were successfully transformed with the bar gene conferring resistance to the herbicide Basta. The gene was introduced into tobacco plants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation. Under greenhouse conditions the transgenic plants showed resistance to Basta in doses 10 times higher then normally applied in the field. Resistant plants were selfed and the same experiments were conducted till R3 generation. Some of these transgenic plants were planted in soil infested with broomrape seeds. They were treated with Basta in order to investigate its efficiency against the parasite. At the same time our experiments towards broomrape control showed that this herbicide could be used as postemergence agent for control of Orobanche spp.