Yu Hengxiu

Breeding of Selectable Marker-Free Transgenic Rice Lines Containing AP1 Gene with Enhanced Disease Resistance

In order to obtain marker-free transgenic rice with improved disease resistance, the AP1 gene of Capsicum annuum and hygromycin-resistance gene (HPT) were cloned into the two separate T-DNA regions of the binary vector pSB130, respectively, and introduced into the calli derived from the immature seeds of two elite japonica rice varieties, Guangling Xiangjing and Wuxiangjing 9, mediated by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Many cotransgenic rice lines containing both the AP1 gene and the marker gene were regenerated and the integration of both transgenes in the transgenic rice plants was confirmed by either PCR or Southern blotting technique. Several selectable marker-free transgenic rice plants were subsequently obtained from the progeny of the cotransformants, and confirmed by both PCR and Southern blotting analysis. These transgenic rice lines were tested in the field and their resistance to disease was carefully investigated, the results showed that after inoculation the resistance to either bacterial blight or sheath blight of the selected transgenic lines was improved when compared with those of wild type.

Efficiencies of Generating Selectable Marker-Free Transgenic Rice with Different Transformation Methods

To study the efficiency of generating selectable marker-free (SMF) transgenic rice, two transformation methods were employed for four rice varieties (Wuxiangjing 9, Longtefu, Xieqingzao and Zhenshan 97). One method is by using a single twin T-DNA binary vector pYH592 in one Agrobacterium strain, which is composed of two separate T-DNA regions (one carrying an antisense Wx gene and the other carrying a HPT gene). The other one, named as two-strain/two-vector system, is by using two separate binary vectors in two separate Agrobacterium cultures. The results indicated that the average co-transformation frequencies of the antisense Wx gene and the HPT gene were 10.1% and 45.0%, respectively, for the four rice varieties. And the SMF transgenic plants selected from the offsprings of co-transformants were 55.6% and 60.0% in the two-strain/two-vector and twin T-DNA vector binary systems, respectively.

Molecular-Cytological Identification and Chromosome Behavior Analysis of Telotetrasomic in Rice

Abstract From the progenies of a telotrisomic of chromosome 9 short arm of an indica rice variety, Zhongxian 3037, a phenotypical variant was selected. The variant plant had rolled leaves, dispersed plant type, as well as a low seed-setting rate. Cytological and molecular cytological investigations revealed two extra chromosomes, which were the shortest in somatic cells of the variant. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis using a rice centromere specific DNA (RCS 2 ) and a DNA sequence specific for chromosome 9 on premetaphase and pachytene chromosomes showed that these two chromosomes were the short arms of chromosome 9. That is to say, the variant was a telotetrasomic of chromosome 9. Among the 25 pachytene cells, the two telosomic chromosomes paired each other to form a bivalent and didnt pair with other normal chromosome 9 as multivalents in 96% cells. However, the bivalent was easy to disassociate in advance.