Abstract
Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) has high nutritional value and is considered one of the most important vegetables in Southeast Asia. Because of its quick growth and efficient absorption of various substances, it has been suggested to be useful for sequestration of environmental pollutants as well as offering a source of medical materials. We have developed and established a system for stable genetic transformation by infecting cut cotyledons with Agrobacterium harboring the GUS gene as a model case after evaluating conditions of bacterial cell density, growth phase and concentrations of acetosyringone. The resulting transgenic plants grew normally to maturity, and exhibited stable GUS activity. Thus, genetic modification of I. aquatica can be readily achieved, thereby improving its quality for whatever traits desired.
