D-Lactate dehydrogenase as a marker gene allows positive selection of transgenic plants

D-Lactate negatively affects Arabidopsis thaliana seedling development in a concentration-dependent manner. At media D-lactate concentrations greater than 5-10mM the development of wild-type plants is arrested shortly after germination whereas plants overexpressing the endogenous D-lactate dehydrogenase (D-LDH) detoxify D-lactate to pyruvate and survive. When the transgenic plants are further transferred to normal growth conditions they develop indistinguishably from the wild type. Thus, D-LDH was successfully established as a new marker in A. thaliana allowing selecting transgenic plants shortly after germination. The selection on D-lactate containing media adds a new optional marker system, which is especially useful if the simultaneous selection of multiple constructs is desired.