26 research outputs found
Cisgenesis and intragenesis as new strategies for crop improvement
Cisgenesis and intragenesis are emerging plant breeding technologies which offer great promise for future acceptance of genetically engineered crops. The techniques employ traditional genetic engineering methods but are confined to transferring of genes and genetic elements between sexually compatible species that can breed naturally. One of the main requirements is the absence of selectable marker genes (such as antibiotic resistance genes) in the genome. Hence the sensitive issues with regard to transfer of foreign genes and antibiotic resistance are overcome. It is a targeted technique involving specific locus; therefore, linkage drag that prolongs the time for crop improvement in traditional breeding does not occur. It has great potential for crop improvement using superior alleles that exist in the untapped germplasm or wild species. Cisgenic and intragenic plants may not face the same stringent regulatory assessment for field release as transgenic plants which is a clear added advantage that would save time. In this chapter, the concepts of cis/intragenesis and the prerequisites for the development of cis/intragenesis plants are elaborated. Strategies for marker gene removal after selection of transformants are discussed based on the few recent reports from various plant species
Improvement of DNA/Metal Particle Adsorption in Tungsten-Based Biolistic Bombardment; Alkaline pH is Necessary for DNA Adsorption and Suppression of DNA Degradation
A selection system for transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana using potassium thiocyanate as the selective agent and AtHOL1 as the selective marker
Transgene integration complexity and expression stability following biolistic or Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sugarcane
Integrated DNA walking system to characterize a broad spectrum of GMOs in food/feed matrices
Generation of Marker- and Backbone-Free Transgenic Potatoes by Site-Specific Recombination and a Bi-Functional Marker Gene in a Non-Regular One-Border Agrobacterium Transformation Vector
Comparison of Agrobacterium and particle bombardment using whole plasmid or minimal cassette for production of high-expressing, low-copy transgenic plants
Transgene integration complexity in the recipient genome can be an important determinant of transgene expression and field performance in transgenic crops. We provide the first direct comparison of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (AMT) and particle bombardment using whole plasmid (WP) and excised minimal cassettes (MC), for transformation efficiency, transgene integration complexity and transgene expression in plants. To enable direct comparison, a selectable marker and a luciferase reporter gene were linked in identical configurations in plasmids suitable for AMT or direct gene transfer into sugarcane. Transformation efficiencies were similar between WP and MC when equal molar DNA quantities were delivered. When the MC concentration was reduced from 66 to 6.6 ng per shot, transformation efficiency dropped fourfold, to a level equivalent with AMT in amenable genotype Q117. The highest proportion of transformants combining low copy number (estimated below two integrated copies by qPCR) with expression of the non-selected reporter gene was obtained using AMT (55 %) or MC at low DNA concentration (30 %). In sugarcane, both of these methods yielded high-expressing, single-copy transgenic plant lines at a workable efficiency for practical plant improvement; but AMT is currently limited to a few amenable genotypes. These methods are best coupled with rapid early screens for desired molecular characteristics of transformants, e. g. PCR screens for low copy number and/or transcription of the gene of practical interest