Jatropha curcas is considered a potential biodiesel feedstock crop. At present, J. curcas does not contribute to the biofuel industry because the yield of its seeds is generally low in many areas. Genetic transformation may become an important method for molecular breeding and gene function analysis of J. curcas.
   Prof. XU Zengfu and his team of Xihshuangbanna Tropical Botanica Garden (XTBG) have previously developed a simple and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system for J. curcas using the cotyledons from mature seeds as explants. However, the transformation efficiency of that method is low and variable; thus, it requires substantial improvement. In a recent study, they further improved the protocol by optimizing several key factors including the supplementation of acetosyringone (AS), selection of A. tumefaciens strains, scheme of transformant selection, determination of antibiotic selection pressure, and formulation of RIM.
  Several important factors that affect the efficiency of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of J. curcas were optimize, including the supplementation of AS, A. Tumefaciens strain, kanamycin concentration, duration of delayed selection, inoculation method, and root-inducing medium. Compared to their previous protocol, genetic transformation and rooting efficiency of the improved protocol were greatly enhanced and reached an average of 56.0 and 84.9 %, respectively.
 The protocol required only two basal media and took  approximately 4 months from the start of co-cultivation to the rooting of plantlets. The improved transformation protocol was simple and reproducible; thus, it may be useful for studies of functional genes and genetic improvement of J. curcas.
The study entitled “An efficient protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the biofuel plant Jatropha curcas by optimizing kanamycin concentration and duration of delayed selection” has been published in Plant Biotechnology Reports.

Different stages of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of J. curcas