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Title: BIOLISTIC TRANSFORMATION OF SUGAR BEET (BETA VULGARIS L.) LEAVES WITH HIGH REGENERATION POTENTIAL

Author
item IVIC-HAYES, SNEZANA - TOWSON UNIVERSITY
item Smigocki, Anna

Submitted to: Plant Cell Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2004
Publication Date: 11/5/2004
Citation: Ivic-Hayes, S.D., Smigocki, A.C. 2005. Biolistic transformation of sugar beet (beta vulgaris l.) leaves with high regeneration potential. Plant Cell Reports. 23:699-704.

Interpretive Summary: Disease and pest problems are responsible for decreases in production of sugar from sugar beet, an economically important crop that provides more than 35% of the world's sugar supply. Conventional breeding has had little success for improving disease resistance in sugar beet. Genetic engineering approaches hold more promise for introduction of known disease resistance traits (genes) to sugar beet. We developed an improved method for transferring genes to commercially important sugar beet varieties. Within each variety, we identified individual plants whose leaves had a high potential for generating many new plants (clones) when propagated in the laboratory. Foreign genes were introduced into the leaves of the pre-selected plants using a high velocity biolistic method (gene gun). We recovered genetically modified plants in a relatively short period of time and showed that foreign genes were taken up and incorporated into the sugar beet chromosomes. The progress described in this report will be of benefit to scientists interested in employing genetic engineering approaches for increasing sugar yields from sugar beet.

Technical Abstract: Leaves of greenhouse-grown sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) plants that were first screened for high regeneration potential were transformed via particle bombardment with the uidA gene fused to the osmotin or proteinase inhibitor II gene promoter. Stably transformed calli were recovered as early as 7 weeks after bombardment and GUS+ shoots regenerated 3 months after bombardment. The efficiency of transformation ranged from 0.9-3.7% and stable integration of the uidA gene into the genome was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. The main advantages of direct bombardment of leaves to regenerate transformed sugar beet include 1) an abundant source of target tissues, 2) minimal tissue culture manipulation, and 3) the overall rapid regeneration of transgenic shoots.