Protoplast approach to obtain transgenic rice plants, and nodulation of rice plants by rhizobia
1989
Cocking, E.C. (Nottingham Univ., Nottingham (United Kingdom). Dept. of Botany)
The production of transgenic cereals is at present only possible by direct interaction of DNA with isolated protoplasts and until recently, only transgenic maize plants have been produced. Success in this approach depends on efficient delivery of plasmids to the recipient protoplast system, the use of a suitable chimeric plasmid construct, and efficient plant regeneration from selected transformed colonies. Transgenic rice plants have now been produced using a combination of efficient plasmid delivery by electroporation coupled with efficient plant regeneration from protoplasts by somatic embryogenesis. The present lack of interaction of rhizobia and agrobacteria with cereals is limiting the use of these bacteria in various aspects of genetic manipulation. Following the finding that a barrier to rhizobium specificity could be removed by enzymatic degradation of the cell wall at the apices of legume root hairs, it was investigated whether such enzymatic treatment of cereal root hairs would enable novel interactions with rhizobia. Very interestingly, modular structures have been produced on rice roots following enzyme treatment and incubation with rhizobia in the presence of polyethylene glycol. It is suggested that these nodular structures may, with further study, provide an inroad into the effective nodulation of cereals by rhizobia; and perhaps also to interaction with agrobacteria.
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