Patent ID: 8481813

Claim:
A method of transforming cells from an Allium plant species with a polynucleotide of interest comprising the steps of: (i) isolating a section of immature leaf from a bulb of the Allium plant to be transformed, wherein said immature leaf is within approximately 1.5 cm 3 of the central basal plate of the bulb; (ii) co-culturing the section of immature leaf with Agrobacterium containing one or more suitable vectors comprising the polynucleotide of interest for a length of time sufficient to achieve transfer of the polynucleotide sequence of interest into one or more plant leaf cells; and (iii) transferring the section of immature leaf to a selection medium that allows for the selection of transformed Allium plant cells, wherein the Allium plant is any one of Allium cepa, Allium fistulosum, Allium ampeloprasum, Allium ascalonicum, Allium schoenoprasum and Allium sativum.