Mark A. Smedley

High-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated barley transformation

BackgroundPlant transformation is an invaluable tool for basic plant research, as well as a useful technique for the direct improvement of commercial crops. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is the fourth most abundant cereal crop in the world. It also provides a useful model for the study of wheat, which has a larger and more complex genome. Most existing barley transformation methodologies are either complex or have low (<10%) transformation efficiencies.ResultsA robust, simple and reproducible barley transformation protocol has been developed that yields average transformation efficiencies of 25%. This protocol is based on the infection of immature barley embryos with Agrobacterium strain AGL1, carrying vectors from the pBract series that contain the hpt gene (conferring hygromycin resistance) as a selectable marker. Results of large scale experiments utilising the luc (firefly luciferase) gene as a reporter are described. The method presented here has been used to produce hundreds of independent, transgenic plant lines and we show that a large proportion of these lines contain single copies of the luc gene.ConclusionThis protocol demonstrates significant improvements in both efficiency and ease of use over existing barley transformation methods. This opens up opportunities for the development of functional genomics resources in barley.

Transgenic barley lines prove the involvement of TaCBF14 and TaCBF15 in the cold acclimation process and in frost tolerance

The enhancement of winter hardiness is one of the most important tasks facing breeders of winter cereals. For this reason, the examination of those regulatory genes involved in the cold acclimation processes is of central importance. The aim of the present work was the functional analysis of two wheat CBF transcription factors, namely TaCBF14 and TaCBF15, shown by previous experiments to play a role in the development of frost tolerance. These genes were isolated from winter wheat and then transformed into spring barley, after which the effect of the transgenes on low temperature stress tolerance was examined. Two different types of frost tests were applied; plants were hardened at low temperature before freezing, or plants were subjected to frost without a hardening period. The analysis showed that TaCBF14 and TaCBF15 transgenes improve the frost tolerance to such an extent that the transgenic lines were able to survive freezing temperatures several degrees lower than that which proved lethal for the wild-type spring barley. After freezing, lower ion leakage was measured in transgenic leaves, showing that these plants were less damaged by the frost. Additionally, a higher Fv/Fm parameter was determined, indicating that photosystem II worked more efficiently in the transgenics. Gene expression studies showed that HvCOR14b, HvDHN5, and HvDHN8 genes were up-regulated by TaCBF14 and TaCBF15. Beyond that, transgenic lines exhibited moderate retarded development, slower growth, and minor late flowering compared with the wild type, with enhanced transcript level of the gibberellin catabolic HvGA2ox5 gene.

The Role of α-Glucosidase in Germinating Barley Grains

The importance of α-glucosidase in the endosperm starch metabolism of barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedlings is poorly understood. The enzyme converts maltose to glucose (Glc), but in vitro studies indicate that it can also attack starch granules. To discover its role in vivo, we took complementary chemical-genetic and reverse-genetic approaches. We identified iminosugar inhibitors of a recombinant form of an α-glucosidase previously discovered in barley endosperm (ALPHA-GLUCOSIDASE97 [HvAGL97]), and applied four of them to germinating grains. All four decreased the Glc-to-maltose ratio in the endosperm 10 d after imbibition, implying inhibition of maltase activity. Three of the four inhibitors also reduced starch degradation and seedling growth, but the fourth did not affect these parameters. Inhibition of starch degradation was apparently not due to inhibition of amylases. Inhibition of seedling growth was primarily a direct effect of the inhibitors on roots and coleoptiles rather than an indirect effect of the inhibition of endosperm metabolism. It may reflect inhibition of glycoprotein-processing glucosidases in these organs. In transgenic seedlings carrying an RNA interference silencing cassette for HvAgl97, α-glucosidase activity was reduced by up to 50%. There was a large decrease in the Glc-to-maltose ratio in these lines but no effect on starch degradation or seedling growth. Our results suggest that the α-glucosidase HvAGL97 is the major endosperm enzyme catalyzing the conversion of maltose to Glc but is not required for starch degradation. However, the effects of three glucosidase inhibitors on starch degradation in the endosperm indicate the existence of unidentified glucosidase(s) required for this process.

Barley transformation using Agrobacterium-mediated techniques.

Methods for the transformation of barley using Agrobacterium-mediated techniques have been available for the past 10 years. Agrobacterium offers a number of advantages over biolistic-mediated techniques in terms of efficiency and the quality of the transformed plants produced. This chapter describes a simple system for the transformation of barley based on the infection of immature embryos with Agrobacterium tumefaciens followed by the selection of transgenic tissue on media containing the antibiotic hygromycin. The method can lead to the production of large numbers of fertile, independent transgenic lines. It is therefore ideal for studies of gene function in a cereal crop system.

Analysis of T-DNA/Host-Plant DNA Junction Sequences in Single-Copy Transgenic Barley Lines.

Sequencing across the junction between an integrated transfer DNA (T-DNA) and a host plant genome provides two important pieces of information. The junctions themselves provide information regarding the proportion of T-DNA which has integrated into the host plant genome, whilst the transgene flanking sequences can be used to study the local genetic environment of the integrated transgene. In addition, this information is important in the safety assessment of GM crops and essential for GM traceability. In this study, a detailed analysis was carried out on the right-border T-DNA junction sequences of single-copy independent transgenic barley lines. T-DNA truncations at the right-border were found to be relatively common and affected 33.3% of the lines. In addition, 14.3% of lines had rearranged construct sequence after the right border break-point. An in depth analysis of the host-plant flanking sequences revealed that a significant proportion of the T-DNAs integrated into or close to known repetitive elements. However, this integration into repetitive DNA did not have a negative effect on transgene expression.

Barley Transformation Using Biolistic Techniques

Microprojectile bombardment or biolistic techniques have been widely used for cereal transformation. These methods rely on the acceleration of gold particles, coated with plasmid DNA, into plant cells as a method of directly introducing the DNA. The first report of the generation of fertile, transgenic barley plants used biolistic techniques. However, more recently Agrobacterium-mediated transformation has been adopted as the method of choice for most cereals including barley. Biolistic procedures are still important for some barley transformation applications and also provide transient test systems for the rapid checking of constructs. This chapter describes methods for the transformation of barley using biolistic procedures and also highlights the use of the technology in transient assays.

Electrophoretic and chromatographic evaluation of transgenic barley expressing a bacterial dihydrodipicolinate synthase

Nutritional quality of human and animal foodstuffs is determined by the content of essential amino acids. Barley is the fourth most important cereal of the world and the second most important cereal grown in the Czech Republic. Cereal grains such as barley contain insufficient levels of some essential amino acids, especially lysine. Dihydrodipicolinate synthase is the key enzyme involved in the regulatory step for lysine biosynthesis. Two constructs pBract214::sTPdapA and pBract214::mdapA containing the dapA gene from Escherichia coli coding for the bacterial dihydrodipicolinate synthase were used for transformation of barley. An Agrobacterium‐mediated technique was used for transformation of immature embryos of spring barley cv. Golden Promise. Transgenic barley plants of the T0 and T1 generations were evaluated by PCR, real‐time PCR, gel electrophoresis, and Western blot. Amino acid content was analyzed by HPLC after HCl hydrolysis. The lysine content in leaves of the T1 generation plant no. 5/5 was 50% higher than in wild‐type plants; the lysine content in seeds of T2 generation plant no. 5/16 was 30% higher than in wild‐type seeds of spring barley cv. Golden Promise.

Gateway ® -Compatible Plant Transformation Vectors

Studies in functional genomics and crop improvement programs often rely on the introduction and expression of transgenes in plants. There are two essential components required for in planta transgene expression, a plasmid vector on which the transgene sequence is carried and a delivery system capable of transferring the vector to the target cells. Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation and the binary plasmid vector system is the preferred method of transgene delivery. The cloning technologies used for DNA manipulation underpin many of these studies. Increased demand for efficient high-throughput transformation systems is driving forward improvements in gene cloning techniques. This chapter gives an overview of Gateway(®)-compatible binary vectors for use in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation systems. It describes a fast, efficient, and robust cloning protocol for the production of an over-expression binary vector using Gateway(®) recombinational cloning.

Magnesium Increases Homoeologous Crossover Frequency During Meiosis in ZIP4 (Ph1 Gene) Mutant Wheat-Wild Relative Hybrids

Wild relatives provide an important source of useful traits in wheat breeding. Wheat and wild relative hybrids have been widely used in breeding programs to introduce such traits into wheat. However, successful introgression is limited by the low frequency of homoeologous crossover (CO) between wheat and wild relative chromosomes. Hybrids between wheat carrying a 70 Mb deletion on chromosome 5B (ph1b) and wild relatives, have been exploited to increase the level of homoeologous CO, allowing chromosome exchange between their chromosomes. In ph1b-rye hybrids, CO number increases from a mean of 1 CO to 7 COs per cell. CO number can be further increased up to a mean of 12 COs per cell in these ph1b hybrids by treating the plants with Hoagland solution. More recently, it was shown that the major meiotic crossover gene ZIP4 on chromosome 5B (TaZIP4-B2) within the 70 Mb deletion, was responsible for the restriction of homoeologous COs in wheat-wild relative hybrids, confirming the ph1b phenotype as a complete Tazip4-B2 deletion mutant (Tazip4-B2 ph1b). In this study, we have identified the particular Hoagland solution constituent responsible for the increased chiasma frequency in Tazip4-B2 ph1b mutant-rye hybrids and extended the analysis to Tazip4-B2 TILLING and CRISPR mutant-Ae variabilis hybrids. Chiasma frequency at meiotic metaphase I, in the absence of each Hoagland solution macronutrient (NH4 H2PO4, KNO3, Ca (NO3)2·4H2O or Mg SO4·7H2O) was analyzed. A significant decrease in homoeologous CO frequency was observed when the Mg2+ ion was absent. A significant increase of homoeologous CO frequency was observed in all analyzed hybrids, when plants were irrigated with a 1 mM Mg2+ solution. These observations suggest a role for magnesium supplementation in improving the success of genetic material introgression from wild relatives into wheat.

Magnesium increases homoeologous crossover frequency in ZIP4 (Ph1) mutant wheat-wild relative hybrids

Wild relatives provide an important source of useful traits in wheat breeding. Wheat and wild relative hybrids have been widely used in breeding programs to introduce such traits into wheat. However, successful introgression is limited by the low frequency of homoeologous crossover (CO) between wheat and wild relative chromosomes. Hybrids between wheat carrying a 70Mb deletion on chromosome 5B (ph1b) and wild relatives, have been exploited to increase the level of homoeologous CO, allowing chromosome exchange between their chromosomes. In ph1b-rye hybrids, CO number increases from a mean of 1 CO to 7 COs per cell. CO number can be further increased up to a mean of 12 COs per cell in these ph1b hybrids by treating the plants with Hoagland solution. More recently, it was shown that the major meiotic crossover gene ZIP4 on chromosome 5B (TaZIP4-B2) within the 70Mb deletion, was responsible for the restriction of homoeologous COs in wheat-wild relative hybrids, confirming the ph1b phenotype as a complete Tazip4-B2 deletion mutant (Tazip4-B2 ph1b). In this study, we have identified the particular Hoagland solution constituent responsible for the increased chiasma frequency in Tazip4-B2 ph1b mutant-rye hybrids and extended the analysis to Tazip4-B2 TILLING and CRISPR mutant-Ae variabilis hybrids. Chiasma frequency at meiotic metaphase I, in the absence of each Hoagland solution macronutrient (NH4 H2PO4, KNO3, Ca (NO3)2·4H2O or Mg SO4·7H2O) was analysed. A significant decrease in homoeologous CO frequency was observed when the Mg2+ ion was absent. A significant increase of homoeologous CO frequency was observed in all analysed hybrids, when plants were irrigated with a 1mM Mg2+ solution. These observations suggest a role for magnesium supplementation in improving the success of genetic material introgression from wild relatives into wheat.