Author
Vogel, John | |
Hill, Theresa |
Submitted to: Plant Cell Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/2007 Publication Date: 11/13/2007 Citation: Vogel, J.P., Hill, T.A. 2007. High-efficiency Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Brachypodium distachyon inbred line Bd 21-3. Plant Cell Reports. 27:471-478 Interpretive Summary: Brachypodium distachyon is a small grass that serves as a model system for the grasses (i.e. forage grasses, cereals and grasses used as energy crops). Transformation is the process by which a desired piece of DNA is stably inserted into an organism. Plant transformation has many practical and experimental applications. An efficient transformation protocol is necessary for a modern model species. This paper describes an improved transformation protocol for Brachypodium distachyon that is 15 fold more efficient than the previous method and achieves transformation efficiencies as high as 41%. Technical Abstract: Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) is a small grass with biological attributes (rapid generation time, small genome, diploid accessions, small stature and simple growth requirements) that make it suitable for use as a model system. In addition, a growing list of genomic resources have been developed or are currently under development including: cDNA libraries, BAC libraries, EST sequences, BAC end sequences, a physical map, genetic markers, a linkage map and, most importantly, the complete genome sequence. To maximize the utility of Brachypodium as a model grass it is necessary to develop an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system. In this report we describe the identification of a transformable inbred diploid line, Bd21-3, and the development of a transformation method with transformation efficiencies as high as 41% of co-cultivated calluses producing transgenic plants. Conducting the co-cultivation step under desiccating conditions produced the greatest improvement in transformation efficiency. |