A rapid and efficient method for plant genetic transformation

Plant genetic transformation is essential for crop engineering and modern molecular breeding. However, the existing transformation protocol is complex and inefficient, limiting genetic modification of most crops and development and utilization of plant resources.

To address this challenge, Guangzhou researchers have developed a novel plant genetic transformation method (Regenerative  Activity-dependent  in  Planta  Injection  Delivery, RAPID) based on the active regeneration ability of plants. In this study, Agrobacterium was delivered to plant meristems via injection for inducing transfected nascent tissues, and stable transgenic plants were obtained by subsequent vegetative propagation. Additionally, the transformation efficiency was optimized by adjusting Agrobacterium strains, infection concentration, chemical reagents, and other conditions. Multiple reporter genes and gene editing tools were also successfully applied by RAPID. Furthermore, the genetic and cytological results confirmed that efficient meristem transformation of and rapid transformant regeneration were the reasons for rapidly and efficiently obtaining stable transgenic plants. Currently, the RAPID method has been successfully applied to important crops or resource plants that are propagated vegetatively, including different genotypes of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), potato (Solanum tuberosum), and bayhops (Ipomoea pes-caprae).

Compared to the traditional transformation methods, RAPID has a higher transformation efficiency (increased by 20 ~ 100 times), shorter duration (reduced by 2 ~ 3 times), and does not require tissue culture procedures. The RAPID method overcomes the limitations of traditional methods for achieving rapid in planta transformation, and can be potentially applied to a wide range of plant species that are capable of regeneration.

The study was recently published online at Plant Communications as a Resource article (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100822). This study was supported by the the Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province, the Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Guangdong Joint Fund.