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Comparison of three selectable marker genes for transformation of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plants by particle bombardment

  • Plant Tissue Culture
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Abstract

A variety of selection systems have been developed for transformation of forage crops. To compare the most frequently used systems, we tested three selectable marker genes for their selection efficiency under four selection procedures for the production of transgenic tall fescue. Embryogenic calluses initiated from mature embryos were bombarded with three constructs containing either the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (bar) gene, the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) gene or the neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene. Transformation efficiency was strongly influenced by the selectable marker gene, selection procedure and genotype. The highest transformation efficiency was observed using the bar gene in combination with bialaphos. Average transformation efficiencies with bialaphos, phosphinothricin (glufosinate), hygromycin and paromomycin selection across the two callus lines used in the experiments were 9.4%, 4.4%, 5.2% and 1.6%, respectively. Southern blot analysis revealed the independent nature of the tested transgenic plants and a complex transgene integration pattern with multiple insertions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Christian Sig Jensen (Research Division, DLF-Trifolium Ltd.) for critical reading and editing of the paper. Also, we are grateful to Fredy Altpeter (Agronomy Department, University of Florida) for the gift of plasmid pJFnpt and Cho Myeong-Je (Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California) for the gift of plasmid pAct1IHPT-4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

    Danfeng Long

  2. College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Xueli Wu & Zhimin Yang

  3. Research Division, DLF-Trifolium Ltd., Hoejerupvej 31, Store Heddinge, Denmark

    Ingo Lenk & Klaus Kristian Nielsen

  4. The State Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Caixia Gao

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  1. Danfeng Long
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  2. Xueli Wu
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  3. Zhimin Yang
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  4. Ingo Lenk
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  5. Klaus Kristian Nielsen
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  6. Caixia Gao
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Correspondence to Caixia Gao.

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Editor: J. Finer

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Long, D., Wu, X., Yang, Z. et al. Comparison of three selectable marker genes for transformation of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plants by particle bombardment. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 47, 658–666 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-011-9382-3

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