2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Anthurium is the most significant cut flower crop produced in the Hawaii floriculture industry. Development of novel colors of anthurium for the industry in Hawaii enables growers to remain competitive with worldwide producers. Genetic transformation is one method for novel color development, but recovering stably transformed plants is a lengthy process. With stable transformation, there is no immediate observation of potential color outcomes as a result of transgene expression. Transient expression via Agrobacterium infiltration was explored to rapidly observe gene function of F3’5’H, the gene that catalyzes the blue flavonoid delphinidin in the anthocyanin pathway in anthurium spathes. In the first experiment, detached spathes of ‘Marian Seefurth’ and hybrid UH 1688 were agro infiltrated with F3’5’H. After 48 hours, spathes that were agro infiltrated with F3’5’H developed bluish hued areas of varying size, while control spathes that received only infiltration buffer showed no change in color. To ensure that the observed color change was a result of the transgene and not pathogenicity by the bacterium, a follow up experiment was done on eight hybrids having a wider range of spathe colors using the following treatments: agro infiltration with F3’5’H, agro infiltration without F3’5’H, and only infiltration buffer. Results were inconsistent, however hybrid UH 2008 was the only hybrid with color changes among treatments. Further experiments are needed to confirm transient expression of the gene F3’5’H in anthurium spathes. This rapid method will be useful for observing the transient expression of color genes of interest in anthurium.