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Transformation of the developing barley endosperm by particle bombardment

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Abstract

Delivery of DNA into intact cells of the developing barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) endosperm was performed with the BIOLISTIC particle gun. It is shown that the proximal 532 base pairs (bp) of the upstream region of a B1-hordein gene drive the expression of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene (uidA) in sub-aleurone and starchy-endosperm cells but not in cells devoid of starch, i.e. developing aleurone cells. The 35S promoter from cauliflower mosaic virus was active in all three cell types. This cell-specific activity of the hordein promoter was verified by a detailed histological study of the regions of the extruded endosperms expressing the uidA gene. The analysis included a histological study of the developing endosperm as a base for classifying the different cell types in the developing endosperm.

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Abbreviations

bp:

base pairs

CAT:

chloramphenicol-acetyltransferase

DAF:

days after flowering

GUS:

β-glucuronidase

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Carlsberg Laboratory and Carlsberg Research Laboratory, 10, G1. Carlsberg Vej, DK-2500, Copenhagen Valby, Denmark

    Søren Knudsen & Martin Müller

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  1. Søren Knudsen
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  2. Martin Müller
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We would like to thank Dr. P.B Holm and Professor Diter von Wettstein (Carlsberg Laboratory) for critical review of the manuscript and for their continued encouragement during the course of this study. We are indebted to Dr. Verena Cameron-Mills (Carlsberg Laboratory) for practical guidance and fruitful discussions throughout this work. The technical assistance of Judita Gärtner, Marie Damm and Bente Jensen is gratefully acknowledged. The work was supported by fellowships from the Research Center for Plant Biotechnology, The Danish Biotechnology Program 1987–1990 and the EEC Biotechnology Action Program. The work is part of the EUREKA project No. Eu 270 (ABIN) and ABIN publication No. 46.

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Knudsen, S., Müller, M. Transformation of the developing barley endosperm by particle bombardment. Planta 185, 330–336 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00201052

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