Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research
  • Published:

Transformation of Elite Cotton Cultivars via Particle Bombardment of Meristems

Abstract

A variety-independent protocol was developed to allow the production of transgenic cotton. High velocity gold beads coated with DNA were used to deliver foreign genes directly into the meristematic tissue of excised embryonic axes. Bombarded explants were allowed to develop into plants which were subsequently screened for gus gene activity. Buds in the axils of transformed leaves were forced to develop into plants by pruning away non-transformed primary shoot tips. Plants derived from this process carried the foreign gene in one or more of their tissue layers. Transformation frequencies varied with the genotype used, but all cultivars attempted to date have yielded transgenic progeny. Molecular and genetic characterization of primary transformants and their progeny established that foreign genes were stably integrated and transmitted to progeny in a Mendelian fashion.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. The Importance of Cotton to the Developing World. Brussels: International Institute of Cotton.

  2. Bayley, C., Trolinder, N., Ray, C., Morgan, M., Quisenberry, J.E. and Ow, D.W. 1992. Engineering 2,4-D resistance into cotton. Theor. Appl. Genet. 83: 645–649.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. John, M.E. and Stewart, J. McD, 1992. Genes for jeans: biotechnological advances in cotton. Trends Biotechnol. 10: 165–170.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Umbeck, P., Johnson, G., Barton, K. and Swain, W. 1987. Genetically transformed cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants. Bio/Technology 5: 263–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cousins, Y.L., Lyon, B.R. and Llewellyn, D.J. 1991. Transformation of an Australian cotton cultivar: prospects for cotton improvement through genetic engineering. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 18: 481–494.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Firoozabody, E., DeBoer, D., Merlo, D., Halk, E., Amerson, L., Rashka, K. and Murray, E. 1987. Transformation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. ) by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and regeneration of transgenic plants. Plant Mol. Biol. 10: 105–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Klein, T.M., Wolf, E.D., Wu, R. and Sanford, J.C. 1987. High-velocity microprojectiles for delivering nucleic acids into living cells. Nature 327: 70–73.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Sanford, J.C. 1990. Biolistic plant transformation. Physiol. Plant. 79: 206–209.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Klein, T.M., Arentzen, R., Lewis, P.A. and Fitzpatrick-McElligott, S. 1992. Transformation of microbes, plants and animals by particle bombardment. Bio/Technology 10: 286–291.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. McCabe, D.E., Swain, W.F., Martinell, B.J. and Christou, P. 1988. Stable transformation of soybean (Glycine max) by particle acceleration. Bio/Technology 6: 923–926.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Christou, P., Swain, W.F., Yang, N.S. and McCabe, D.E. 1989. Inheritance and expression of foreign genes in transgenic soybean plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86: 7500–7504.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Finer, J.J. and McMullen, M.D. 1990. Transformation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) via particle bombardment. Plant Cell Rep. 8: 586–589.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Christou, P. and McCabe, D.E. 1992. Prediction of germ-line transformation events in chimeric R0 transgenic soybean plantlets using tissue-specific expression patterns. Plant J. 2: 283–290.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Walbot, V. and Dure, L. 1976. Developmental biochemistry of cotton seed embryogenesis and germination. J. Mol. Biol. 101: 503–536.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Sussex, I.M. 1989. Developmental programming of the shoot meristem. Cell 56: 225–229.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Christou, P., McCabe, D.E., Martinell, B.J. and Swain, W.F. 1990. Soybean genetic engineering—commercial production of transgenic plants. Trends Biotechnol. 8: 145–151.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Barwale, U.B., Kerns, H.R. and Widholm, J.M. 1986. Plant regeneration from callus cultures of several soybean genotypes via embryogenesis and organogenesis. Planta 167: 473–481.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Lloyd, G. and McCown, B. 1981. Commercially feasible micropropagation of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) by use of shoot tip culture. Proc. International Plant Propagation Soc. 30: 421–427.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Jefferson, J.G., Kavanagh, T.A. and Bevan, M.W. 1987. GUS fusions: β-glucuronidase as a sensitive and versatile gene fusion marker in higher plants. EMBO J. 6: 3901–3907.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Hughes, D.W. and Galau, G. 1988. Preparation of RNA from cotton leaves and pollen. Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 6: 253–257.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Baker, S.S., Rugh, C.L. and Kamalay, J.C. 1990. RNA and DNA isolation from recalcitrant plant tissues. BioTechniques 9: 268–272.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Southern, E.M. 1975. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J. Mol. Biol. 98: 503–517.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Church, G.M. and Gilbert, W. 1984. Genomic sequencing. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81: 1991–1995.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McCabe, D., Martinell, B. Transformation of Elite Cotton Cultivars via Particle Bombardment of Meristems. Nat Biotechnol 11, 596–598 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0593-596

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0593-596

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing