ABSTRACT
Modification of flower colour is one of the first examples of how genetic engineering can be applied in breeding new varieties. The first modification of flower colour intensity using genetic engineering was done in Petunia hybrida. Development of a transformation method for any plant species or cultivar requires an effective tissue culture technique in order to regenerate the transformed tissue. Flavonoids are phenolic compounds common to all higher plants. They have several unrelated roles in plants. A group in the DNA Plant Technology Corporation has studied sense suppression, focusing especially on the stability of the modified phenotype for commercial applications. Gerbera hybrida is an important ornamental plant. Rosa hybrida is the most important commercial cut-flower. Transformation of petunia by Meyer and others using a heterologous gene from maize was the first case of using genetic engineering to alter flower colour. Breeding of ornamental species via genetic engineering focuses on many characteristics that are the same as in traditional breeding programmes.
