Genetic transformation technology: status and problems

    Sharma, K K and Bhatnagar-Mathur, P and Thorpe, T A (2005) Genetic transformation technology: status and problems. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology. Plant, 41 (2). pp. 102-112. ISSN 1054-5476

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    Abstract

    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

    Item Type: Article
    Divisions: UNSPECIFIED
    CRP: UNSPECIFIED
    Uncontrolled Keywords: Agrobacterium tumefaciens; biolistics; gene silencing; genetic transformation; transgenics
    Subjects: Others > Genetics and Genomics
    Others > Plant Pathology
    Depositing User: Ms K Syamalamba
    Date Deposited: 27 Oct 2011 05:05
    Last Modified: 27 Oct 2011 05:05
    URI: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/3198
    Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/IVP2004618
    Projects: UNSPECIFIED
    Funders: HarvestPlus Program
    Acknowledgement: The authors thank Dr. Vanamala Anjaiah for helpful comments on this review. K. K. S. would like to thank the HarvestPlus Program for providing the funds
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