Colin Eady

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation and transgenic-plant regeneration of onion (Allium cepa L.)

Abstract An Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method has been developed for onions (Allium cepa L.) using immature embryos as the explant source. Transgenic plants were recovered from the open-pollinated onion cultivar Canterbury Longkeeper at a maximum transformation frequency from immature embryos of 2.7%. The method takes between 3–5 months from explant to primary regenerant entering the glasshouse. Multiple-shoot formation from primary transgenic material made possible the clonal multiplication of transformants. The binary vector used carried the nptII antibiotic resistance gene and the m-gfp5-ER reporter gene. Transgenic cultures were initially screened for their ability to fluoresce and to grow in the presence of geneticin (5–25 mg/l). The transgenic nature of individual plants was confirmed by Southern blot analysis.

Silencing Onion Lachrymatory Factor Synthase Causes a Significant Change in the Sulfur Secondary Metabolite Profile

Through a single genetic transformation in onion (Allium cepa), a crop recalcitrant to genetic transformation, we suppressed the lachrymatory factor synthase gene using RNA interference silencing in six plants. This reduced lachrymatory synthase activity by up to 1,544-fold, so that when wounded the onions produced significantly reduced levels of tear-inducing lachrymatory factor. We then confirmed, through a novel colorimetric assay, that this silencing had shifted the trans-S-1-propenyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide breakdown pathway so that more 1-propenyl sulfenic acid was converted into di-1-propenyl thiosulfinate. A consequence of this raised thiosulfinate level was a marked increase in the downstream production of a nonenzymatically produced zwiebelane isomer and other volatile sulfur compounds, di-1-propenyl disulfide and 2-mercapto-3,4-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrothiophene, which had previously been reported in trace amounts or had not been detected in onion. The consequences of this dramatic simultaneous down- and up-regulation of secondary sulfur products on the health and flavor attributes of the onion are discussed.

Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from immature embryo cultures of onion (Allium cepa L.)

Abstract Somatic embryos were obtained and plants regenerated from immature embryos of onion following culture on embryogenic induction media. Highest rates of somatic embrogenesis resulted from 0.5- to 1.5-mm immature embryos cultured on media containing 5 mg/l of picloram. Somatic embryos formed either directly on the surface of embryos or developed from compact cultures. The production of somatic embryos was significantly affected by the addition of auxin, embryo size and cultivar. The potential of somatic embryogenic cultures for plantlet regeneration has been maintained for over 1 year in some lines. Three types of immature-embryo-derived cultures were characterized by histology. Some cultures were morphologically similar to immature-embryo-derived embryogenic cultures of other monocotyledonous species. Cultures such as these have proven to be useful target tissues in transformation studies.

Transient expression of uidA constructs in in vitro onion (Allium cepa L.) cultures following particle bombardment and Agrobacterium-mediated DNA delivery

Particle bombardment and Agrobacterium-mediated DNA delivery into immature embryos and microbulbs were used to investigate the expression of the uidA gene in in vitro onion cultures. Both methods were successful in delivering DNA and subsequent uidA expression was observed. Optimal transient β-glucuronidase activity was observed in immature embryos that had been pre-cultured for three days and bombarded at a distance of 3 cm from the stopping plate, under 25 in Hg vacuum, using 900–1300 psi rupture discs. The CaMV35S-uidA gene construct gave five fold higher transient β-glucuronidase activity than the uidA gene construct regulated by any of four other promoters initially chosen for high experession in monocotyledonous tissues.

Ds transposition mediated by transient transposase expression in Heiracium aurantiacum

The feasibility of using transient transposase expression to mobilize Ds elements for gene tagging in Hieracium aurantiacum was evaluated. A T-DNA construct carrying the Ac transposase gene and either a visible marker gene (uidA) or the conditionally-lethal marker gene (codA) was transferred to H. aurantiacum leaf discs (previously transformed with a Ds element) by co-cultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Shoots were regenerated directly from the co-cultivated leaf discs under selection for antibiotic resistance resulting from Ds excision. Most regenerants carried unique transposition events. Of 84 regenerated plants, twenty one (25%) did not express the marker gene and the DNA coding sequence of the transposase could not be detected in seven (8.3%). Potential advantages of this method over conventional gene-tagging methods are: rapid recovery of individual transposition events; regenerated plants are isogenic; and the transient nature of transposase expression should facilitate the stabilisation of the transposed element.

Inhibition of Platelet Activation by Lachrymatory Factor Synthase (LFS)-Silenced (Tearless) Onion Juice

Onion and garlic are renowned for their roles as functional foods. The health benefits of garlic are attributed to di-2-propenyl thiosulfinate (allicin), a sulfur compound found in disrupted garlic but not found in disrupted onion. Recently, onions have been grown with repressed lachrymatory factor synthase (LFS) activity, which causes these onions to produce increased amounts of di-1-propenyl thiosulfinate, an isomer of allicin. This investigation into the key health attributes of LFS-silenced (tearless) onions demonstrates that they have some attributes more similar to garlic and that this is likely due to the production of novel thiosulfinate or metabolites. The key finding was that collagen-induced in vitro platelet aggregation was significantly reduced by tearless onion extract over normal onion extract. Thiosulfinate or derived compounds were shown not to be responsible for the observed changes in the inflammatory response of AGS (stomach adenocarcinoma) cells to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) when pretreated with model onion juices. A preliminary rat feeding trial indicated that the tearless onions may also play a key role in reducing weight gain.