One step in the production of transgenic cotton is the regeneration of whole plants from undifferentiated cells (calli) in which the gene of interest has been inserted. The first stage is a crucial one and involves producing plant embryos from callus cells (somatic embryogenesis). The frequency of embryo formation is low and the process is poorly understood. Of the cultivars that can form embryos, most are no longer grown commercially (e. g., Coker). To introduce a gene into commercially important cultivars, the standard international practice is to transform a Coker cultivar, produce plants that are homozygous for the gene inserted and then enter these plants into a backcross breeding program (Wilkins et al. 2000). This process delays the commercial release of transgenic cotton by several years' A method that allows commercial cotton cultivars to be transformed and regenerated directly would be a significant advance in cotton biotechnology (Rajasekaran et al. 2001).