Abstract
We have investigated the use of the tetracycline-dependent gene expression system to regenerate and propagate tobacco plants transformed with a gene whose product — when highly expressed — interferes with regeneration and/or further reproduction. Plants transformed with the Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolB gene under the control of the tetracycline-dependent expression system were phenotypically indistinguishable from wild type owing to efficient repression of the promoter. Induction of the rolB gene with tetracycline led to high-level expression of the rolB mRNA, which resulted in extremely stunted plants with necrotic and wrinkled leaves that did not develop a floral meristem. Upon cessation of tetracycline treatment healthy shoots developed even from severely affected meristems. Data on the dose response of the rolB phenotype as a function of tetracycline concentration demonstrate that the tetracycline-dependent gene expression system can be used to modulate the manifestation of a particular phenotype.
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Röder, F.T., Schmülling, T. & Gatz, C. Efficiency of the tetracycline-dependent gene expression system: complete suppression and efficient induction of the rolB phenotype in transgenic plants. Molec. Gen. Genet. 243, 32–38 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283873
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283873