ABSTRACT

It is often desirable to introduce a single gene into a higher plant in such a way that the introduced gene is stably inherited. There are a number of approaches available to achieve stable transformation of different plant species. Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation is the most common DNA delivery method for higher plants, especially dicots (reviewed in Zupan and Zambryski). 1

While the basic principles involved in the transfer of DNA from A. tumefaciens to plant cells are the same for different bacterial strains and plant species, the physical manipulations and culture of plant tissue required for transformation depend on the species of plant and source of explant. Before foreign DNA is introduced into plant cells, it is important to choose a DNA construct that has a reasonable chance of being expressed in the plant species and tissue where it is desired. Even with careful planning, new constructs may be expressed in unexpected ways after transfer to a plant in which they have not been used previously. For this reason, numerous transformed plants are usually produced, with a subset having the phenotype expected from the introduced gene and its product.