Rapid and efficient regeneration of plants from explants of Arabidopsis thaliana

A procedure is given for the regeneration in vitro of a previously difficult to regenerate plant, Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Leaf explants of Arabidopsis that are given a short exposure to a callus-inducing medium prior to incubation on a shoot-inducing medium exhibit high survivability and rapidly produce shoots. Some media combinations allow shoots to form on 100% of the explants and the majority of these explants form multiple shoots. The shoots are normal in appearance and most of them can be induced to form functional roots and retain fertility. This regeneration scheme should be of use in the development of an Arabidopsis transformation procedure and may also be applicable to other recalcitrant plant species.