Genetic transformation technology: Status and problems

Summary Transfer of genes from heterologous species provides the means of selectively introducing new traits into crop plants and expanding the gene pool beyond what has been available to traditional breeding systems. With the recent advances in genetic engineering of plants, it is now feasible to introduce into crop plants, genes that have previously been inaccessible to the conventional plant breeder, or which did not exist in the crop of interest. This holds a tremendous potential for the genetic enhancement of important food crops. However, the availability of efficient transformation methods to introduce foreign DNA can be a substantial barrier to the application of recombinant DNA methods in some crop plants. Despite significant advances over the past decades, development of efficient transformation methods can take many years of painstaking research. The major components for the development of transgenic plants include the development of reliable tissue culture regeneration systems, preparation of gene constructs and efficient transformation techniques for the introduction of genes into the crop plants, recovery and multiplication of transgenic plants, molecular and genetic characterization of transgenic plants for stable and efficient gene expression, transfer of genes to elite cultivars by conventional breeding methods if required, and the evaluation of transgenic plants for their effectiveness in alleviating the biotic and abiotic stresses without being an environmental biohazard. Amongst these, protocols for the introduction of genes, including the efficient regeneration of shoots in tissue cultures, and transformation methods can be major bottlenecks to the application of genetic transformation technology. Some of the key constraints in transformation procedures and possible solutions for safe development and deployment of transgenic plants for crop improvement are discussed.     

Study of the factors influencing Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Factors influencing the efficiency of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of pea were tested using highly efficient, direct regeneration system. The virulence of three Agrobacterium strains (octopine LBA 4404, nopaline C58C1 and succinamopine, hypervirulent EHA 105) clearly varied giving 1 transgenic plant per 100 explants for LBA 4404, 2.2 for C58C1 and 8.2 for EHA 105. To test the efficacy of selection agents we used the hypervirulent EHA 105 strain carrying pGPTV binary vector with one of four different selection genes: nptII, hpt, dhfr or bar. The mean number of transgenic, kanamycin-resistant plants for two cultivars tested was 4.2 per 100 explants and was slightly higher than the number of phosphinothricin-resistant plants (3.6 plants per 100 explants). The proportion of transgenics among kanamycin-selected plants was also higher than among phosphinothricin-resistant plants (35% and 28% respectively). There was no regeneration on hygromycin or methotrexate media (transformation with hpt and dhfr genes). Acetosyringone had no apparent influence on efficiency of transformation with hypervirulent EHA 105 strain, however it did affect the rate of transformation when moderately virulent C58C1 was used. Recovery of transgenic plants was enhanced after application of 5-azacytidine. The presence of integrated T-DNA was checked by PCR and confirmed by Southern hybridization. T-DNA was stably transmitted to the next generation.     

Divide and conquer: development and cell cycle genes in plant transformation

Genetic transformation and regeneration of transgenic plants remains unfeasible for the majority of plant species. We propose that inducible expression and/or suppression of the genes that control the cell cycle and development, by altering chromatin structure and exerting epigenetic control of gene expression, might substantially improve competence for transformation and/or regeneration. Transformation efficiency was higher in cells with nuclei at the S and G2 phases, and manipulating the genes whose activation or silencing promote the G1-S transition has increased both transient and stable transformation. Controlling the cell cycle directly, using RBR and VIP1, or indirectly, through hormone regulation using IPT and ESR1, has improved rates of stable transformation. Other target genes that might promote incorporation of DNA and/or pluripotency of cells include HP1, CycD3 and CycD1. The availability of large EST databanks, complete plant-genome sequences and/or inducible gene expression systems create opportunities for testing homologous genes to increase competence of transformation and regeneration.     

An efficient method for the production of marker-free transgenic plants of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Recombinant genes conferring resistance to antibiotics or herbicides are widely used as selectable markers in plant transformation for selecting the primary transgenic events. However, these become redundant once the transgenic plants have been developed and identified. Although, there is no evidence that the selectable marker genes are unsafe for consumers and the environment, it would be desirable if the marker genes can be eliminated from the final transgenic events. The availability of efficient transformation methods can enable the possibility of developing transgenic events that are devoid of the marker gene/s upfront. Taking advantage of the high and consistent transformation potential of peanut, we report a technique for developing its transgenics without the use of any selectable marker gene. Marker-free binary vectors harboring either the phytoene synthase gene from maize (Zmpsy1) or the chitinase gene from rice (Rchit) were constructed and used for Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of peanut. The putative transgenic events growing in vitro were initially identified by PCR and further confirmed for gene integration and expression by dot blots assays, Southern blots, and RT-PCR where they showed a transformation frequency of over 75%. This system is simple, efficient, rapid, and does not require the complex segregation steps and analysis for selection of the transgenic events. This approach for generation of marker-free transgenic plants minimizes the risk of introducing unwanted genetic changes, allows stacking of multiple genes and can be applicable to other plant species that have high shoot regeneration efficiencies.     

Soybean transformation by electric discharge particle acceleration

By the use of a direct DNA-delivery system based on electric discharge particle acceleration we have been able to obtain transgenic soybean plants expressing the neomycin phosphotransferase II and the β-glucuronidase genes. Techniques for efficient introduction of foreign genes into agronomically important crop plants have been limited by the inability to regenerate fertile plants from single cells or by the limited hostrange of Agrobacterium vectors. In the case of soybean ( Glycine max ) the problem has been compounded due to the lack of a regeneration method compatible with existing transformation technology. In a commercial genetic engineering program the following points need to be considered: (a) not all crops/cultivars can be regenerated from transformed tissues, (b) long time frames are required for the regeneration of transgenic plants from callus, (c) Agrobacterium has a rather limited host specificity and (d) problems associated with somaclonal variation.     

Genetic transformation of wheat: progress during the 1990s into the Millennium

Wheat transformation technology has progressed rapidly during the past decade. Initially, procedures developed for protoplast isolation and culture, electroporation- and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced DNA transfer enabled foreign genes to be introduced into wheat cells. The development of biolistic (microprojectile) bombardment procedures led to a more efficient approach for direct gene transfer. More recently, Agrobacterium-mediated gene delivery procedures, initially developed for the transformation of rice, have also been used to generate transgenic wheat plants. This review summarises the considerable progress in wheat transformation achieved during the last decade. An increase in food production is essential in order to sustain the increasing world population. This could be achieved by the development of higher yielding varieties with improved nutritional quality and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Although conventional breeding will continue to play a major role in increasing crop yield, laboratory-based techniques, such as genetic transformation to introduce novel genes into crop plants, will be essential in complementing existing breeding technologies. A decade ago, cereals were considered recalcitrant to transformation. Since then, a significant research effort has been focused on cereals because of their agronomic status, leading to improved genetic transformation procedures (Bommineni and Jauhar 1997). Initially, the genetic transformation of cereals relied on the introduction of DNA into protoplasts and the subsequent production of callus from which fertile plants were regenerated. More recently, major advances have been accomplished in the regeneration of fertile plants from a range of source tissues, providing an essential foundation for the generation of transgenic plants. This review summarises procedures, vectors and target tissues used for transformation, high-lights the limitations of current approaches and discusses future trends. The citation of references is limited, where possible, to the most relevant or recent reports.     

Advances in selectable marker genes for plant transformation

Plant transformation systems for creating transgenics require separate process for introducing cloned DNA into living plant cells. Identification or selection of those cells that have integrated DNA into appropriate plant genome is a vital step to regenerate fully developed plants from the transformed cells. Selectable marker genes are pivotal for the development of plant transformation technologies because marker genes allow researchers to identify or isolate the cells that are expressing the cloned DNA, to monitor and select the transformed progeny. As only a very small portion of cells are transformed in most experiments, the chances of recovering transgenic lines without selection are usually low. Since the selectable marker gene is expected to function in a range of cell types it is usually constructed as a chimeric gene using regulatory sequences that ensure constitutive expression throughout the plant. Advent of recombinant DNA technology and progress in plant molecular biology had led to a desire to introduce several genes into single transgenic plant line, necessitating the development of various types of selectable markers. This review article describes the developments made in the recent past on plant transformation systems using different selection methods adding a note on their importance as marker genes in transgenic crop plants.     

月季的植株再生及遗传转化研究进展

本文对近20年月季植株再生和转基因研究进展进行了较为系统的回顾和总结.月季通过器官和体细胞胚发生途径都能再生植株,但遗传转化主要是利用体细胞胚发生途径.通过农杆菌介导法和基因枪法,外源基因如报告基因、抗病基因和改变花色的基因等已转化成功.文章还对今后月季转基因研究的方向进行了讨论.     

月季的植株再生及遗传转化研究进展

本文对近20年月季植株再生和转基因研究进展进行了较为系统的回顾和总结。月季通过器官和体细胞胚发生途径都能再生植株,但遗传转化主要是利用体细胞胚发生途径。通过农杆菌介导法和基因枪法,外源基因如报告基因、抗病基因和改变花色的基因等已转化成功。文章还对今后月季转基因研究的方向进行了讨论。     

Conditions of transformation and regeneration of `Induka' and `Elista' strawberry plants

Efficiency of plants' transformation depends on many factors. The genotype, applied techniques and conditions of plant's modification and modified plant regeneration are the most important among them. In our studies regeneration and transformation conditions for two strawberry cultivars were determined and compared. Plants were transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA₄₄₀₄ strain containing plasmid pBIN19 with nptII and gus-reporter genes. Experiment was carried out on more than 1300 leaf explants from each cultivar. Generally, `Induka' plants characterized with higher regeneration potential than `Elista'. The highest number of regenerated shoots was obtained on MS medium with 0.4 mg l ^–1 IBA and 1.8 mg l^–1 BA (3.5 and 1.8 shoots/explant for `Induka' and `Elista', respectively). After plant transformation number of regenerated, transgenic shoots was higher for `Elista' (on the average: 8.3 shoots/100 explants). The number of transgenic `Induka' shoots, obtained at the same conditions, was twice lower (4.2). Simultaneously `Induka' plants needed higher kanamycin concentration for transgenic explants selection than `Elista' (25 mg l^–1). Preliminary incubation of A. tumefaciens in LB or MS medium with acetosyringone and IAA resulted in increasing transgenic shoots number (per 100 explants: `Induka' 4.5, `Elista' 8.0–9.5 shoots). After using untreated bacteria for plants' transformation, number of transgenic plants varied (dependently on cultivar) from 3.8 to 7.0/100 explants. Applying LB or MS as basic medium as well as adding tobacco plant extract to these media did not significantly influence transformation efficiency.     

A transformation procedure for recalcitrant tomato by addressing transgenic plant-recovery limiting factors

Agrobacterium tumefaciens technology is the battle horse for tomato genetic transformation. However, tomato varieties with low regeneration capacity are very difficult to transform. In the past, tomato transformation through Agrobacterium infection was focused on varieties capable of high regeneration yield, while successful transformation of low regenerable cultivars has not been reported. The genotype response to tissue culture conditions is believed to drive the frequency of regeneration of transgenic plant, whereas the capacity for cell proliferation could determine the transformation efficiency through this technology. The Campbell-28 cultivar is an example of constraints arising from a high morphogenetic potential with low conversion compared to normal plants. In the present work the roles that contribute to improved transgenic plant recovery from this recalcitrant variety were explored for factors like Agrobacterium concentration and antibiotics for bacterial removal and transformant selection. Analysis of the efficiency from independent transformation experiments revealed a more than twofold increase of transformant regeneration after selection on ammonium glufosinate compared to kanamycin selection, showing a transformation efficiency of 21.5%.     

Cytokinin vectors mediate marker-free and backbone-free plant transformation

Conventional Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods rely on complex and genotype-specific tissue culture media for selection, proliferation, and regeneration of genetically modified cells. Resulting transgenic plants may not only contain selectable marker genes but also carry fragments of the vector backbone. Here, we describe a new method for the production of transgenic plants that lack such foreign DNA. This method employs vectors containing the bacterial isopentenyltransferase (ipt) gene as backbone integration marker. Agrobacterium strains carrying the resulting ipt gene-containing "cytokinin" vectors were used to infect explants of various Solanaceous plant species as well as canola (Brassica napus). Upon transfer to hormone-free media, 1.8% to 9.9% of the infected explants produced shoots that contained a marker-free T-DNA while lacking the backbone integration marker. These frequencies often equal or exceed those for backbone-free conventional transformation.     

月季组织培养和遗传转化体系的研究进展

月季通过器官和体细胞胚发生途径都可以获得再生植株,在遗传转化中主要是利用体细胞胚作为转化受体。目前,利用农杆菌介导法和基因枪法已成功将外源基因如报告基因、抗病基因和改变花色的基因等导入月季基因组中。本文对近年来月季组织培养和转基因研究进展进行了综述,为建立月季高效遗传转化体系奠定了理论基础。     

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and regeneration of transgenic plants

Summary Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation of Populus tremuloides Michx was accomplished by co-cultivation of leaf disks excised from greenhouse plants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing a binary Ti-plasmid vector harboring chimeric neomycin phosphotransferase (NPT II) and ß-glucuronidase (GUS) genes. Shoot regeneration in the presence of kanamycin was achieved when thidiazuron (TDZ) was used as a plant growth regulator. Transformation was verified by amplification of NPT II and GUS gene fragments from genomic DNA of transgenic plants with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and integration of these genes into nuclear genome of transgenic plants was confirmed by genomic Southern hybridization analysis. Histochemical assay revealed the expression of GUS gene in leaf, stem and root tissues of transgenic plants, further confirming the integration and expression of T-DNA in these plants. This protocol allows effective transformation and regeneration of quaking aspen using greenhouse-grown materials as an explant source. Whole plant regeneration from cuttings of fieldgrown mature quaking aspen and hybrid poplar (P. alba x P. grandidentata) was also readily achieved by using this protocol, which represents a potential system for producing transgenic quaking aspen and hybrid poplar of valuable genotypes.Abbreviations AMV RNA4 Alfalfa mosaic virus RNA4 - BA 6-benzyladenine - CaMV cauliflower mosaic virus - 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid - FAA formalin-acetic acid-alcohol - GUS ß-glucuronidase - NAA 1-naphthylacetic acid - NPT II neomycin phosphotransferase II - PCR polymerase chain reaction - SDS sodium dodecyl sulphate - TE Tris-Cl/EDTA - TDZ N-phenyl-N-1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl-urea (thidiazuron) - WPM woody plant medium (Lloyd and McCown 1980) - X-GLUC 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-glucuronic acid     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Robinia pseudoacacia

Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) plants were regenerated after co-cultivation of stem and leaf segments with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101 (pMP90) that harbored a binary vector that included genes for β-glucuronidase (GUS) and hygromycin phosphotransferase. Successful transformation was confirmed by the ability of stem and leaf segments to produce calli in the presence of hygromycin, by histochemical and fluorometric assays of GUS activity in plant tissues, and by Southern blotting analysis. In this transformation system, about 2 months were required for regeneration of transgenic plants from stem and leaf segments. The frequency of transformation from stem segments was approximately 24%, and the morphology of regenerated plants resembled that of the original parental strain. Received: 2 September 1999 / Revision received: 30 November 1999 / Accepted: 4 December 1999     

Development of transgenic rice pure lines by particle bombardment‐mediated transformation and genetic analysis‐based selection

Mature seed‐derived callus from an elite Chinese japonica rice cv. Eyl 105 was transformed with a plasmid containing the selectable marker hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) and the reporter β‐glucuronidase (gusA) genes via particle bombardment. After two rounds of selection on hygromycin (30 mg/l)‐containing medium, resistant callus was transferred to hygromycin (30 mg/l)‐containing regeneration medium for plant regeneration. Twenty‐three independent transgenic rice plants were regenerated from 127 bombarded callus with a transformation frequency of 18.1%. All the transgenic plants contained both gusA and hpt genes, revealed by PCR/Southern blot analysis. GUS assay revealed 18 out of 23 plants (78.3%) proliferated on hygromycin‐containing medium had GUS expression at various levels. Genetic analysis confirmed Mendelian segregation of transgenes in progeny. From R2 generations with their R1 parent plants showing 3:1 Mendelian segregation, we identified three independent homozygous transgenic rice lines. The homozygous lines were phenotypically normal and fertile compared to the control plants. We demonstrate that homozygous transgenic rice lines can be obtained via particle bombardment‐mediated transformation and through genetic analysis‐based selection.     

Single-step transformation for generating marker-free transgenic rice using the ipt-type MAT vector system

The ipt-type MAT vector uses the ipt gene for regeneration of marker-free transgenic plants. However, it was pointed out that this system was not suitable for most economically important crops that regenerated through auxin-dependent embryogenesis. We report a single-step transformation system of rice using MAT vector. When we transformed scutellum tissues of 5 days pre-cultured rice seeds, marker-free transgenic rice plants directly regenerated from 25.5% infected scutellum tissues without forming ipt-intermediates within 4 weeks after an infection. Excision of the ipt gene caused the regeneration of marker-free transgenic rice plants through embryogenic tissues. Therefore, this system needs no selective agent and no sexual crossing for identification of transgenic plants not containing a selectable marker gene. This system is highly effective for generation of marker-free transgenic plants in economically important crops.     

In planta transformation of pigeon pea: a method to overcome recalcitrancy of the crop to regeneration in vitro

Development of transgenics in pigeon pea remains dogged by poor plant regeneration in vitro from transformed tissues and low frequency transformation protocols. This article presents a non-tissue culture-based method of generating transgenic pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millisp.) plants using Agrobacterium-Ti plasmid-mediated transformation system. The protocol involves raising of whole plant transformants (T₀ plants) directly from Agrobacterium-infected young seedlings. The plumular and intercotyledonary meristems of the seedling axes are targeted for transformation. The transformation conditions optimized were, pricking of the apical and intercotyledonary region of the seedling axes of two-day old germinating seedlings with a sewing needle, infection with Agrobacterium (LBA4404/pKIWI105 carrying uid A and npt II genes) in Winans’ AB medium that was added with wounded tobacco leaf extract, co-cultivation in the same medium for 1h and transfer of seedlings to soilrite for further growth and hardening and subsequent transfer of seedlings to soil in pots in the greenhouse. Out of the 22–25 primary transformants that survived infection-hardening treatments from each of the three experiments, 15 plants on the average established on the soil under greenhouse conditions, showed slow growth initially, nevertheless grew as normal plants, and flowered and set seed eventually. Of the several seeds harvested from all the T₀ plants, six hundred were sown to obtain progeny (T₁) plants and 350 of these were randomly analysed to determine their transgenic nature. PCR was performed for both gus (uid A) and npt II genes. Forty eight of the 350 T₁ plants amplified both transgenes. Southern blot analysis substantiated the integration and transmission of these genes. The protocol ensured generation of pigeon pea transgenic plants with considerable ease in a short time and is applicable across different genotypes/cultivars of the crop and offers immense potential as a supplemental or an alternative protocol for generating transgenic plants of difficult-to-regenerate pigeon pea. Further, the protocol offers the option of doing away with a selection step in the procedure and so facilitates transformation, which is free of marker genes.Key words: Cajanus cajan, Transformation, Tissue culture-independent plant regeneration     

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of plants: biology and biotechnology

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is the dominant technology used for the production of genetically modified transgenic plants. Extensive research aimed at understanding and improving the molecular machinery of Agrobacterium responsible for the generation and transport of the bacterial DNA into the host cell has resulted in the establishment of many recombinant Agrobacterium strains, plasmids and technologies currently used for the successful transformation of numerous plant species. Unlike the role of bacterial proteins, the role of host factors in the transformation process has remained obscure for nearly a century of Agrobacterium research, and only recently have we begun to understand how Agrobacterium hijacks host factors and cellular processes during the transformation process. The identification of such factors and studies of these processes hold great promise for the future of plant biotechnology and plant genetic engineering, as they might help in the development of conceptually new techniques and approaches needed today to expand the host range of Agrobacterium and to control the transformation process and its outcome during the production of transgenic plants.     

A rapid and highly efficient method for transformation of sugarcane callus

Modern sugarcane cultivars have complex genetic characteristics and low fertility that render their genetic improvement through traditional breeding difficult. Genetic engineering methodology to introduce foreign genes provides new opportunities for the genetic improvement of sugarcane cultivars. One of prerequisites for successful insertion of a gene cassette into the plant genome is the availability of an efficient transformation protocol. An improved protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sugarcane is described. Between 85 and 100% of calli transformed using this procedure produced new calli, and 100% of them were positive for the inserted gene. The whole procedure permitted the production of transgenic calli in a short time (1.5 mo). The transformed calli can be cultured further for the production of the inserted gene-encoded enzyme by using cell culture, or they can be regenerated into transgenic plants. This protocol may be implemented also for the generation of transgenic plants from other species.