ABSTRACT
There are several techniques that have been utilized successfully to introduce DNA into plant cells. Of these methods, particle bombardment, wherein microscopic metal particles coated with genetically engineered DNA are explosively accelerated into plant cells, has become the second most widely used vehicle for plant genetic transformation, after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. This chapter focuses on a modified version of an article published by Gray in Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture. It provides complete directions for constructing a simplified version of the particle inflow gun (PIG). The device is termed as a "Plastic PIG". The chapter then provides the directions for operating the Plastic PIG, including preparation of the DNA-particle mixture and methods to obtain transient expression of the ß-glucuronidase (GUS) gene, a convenient reporter gene, in plant tissues. Particle bombardment is affected by many parameters, which include biological and physical factors.
