Biolistic transformation of wheat is one of the most commonly used methods for gene function study and trait discovery. It has been widely adapted as a fundamental platform to generate wheat plants with new traits and has become a powerful tool for facilitating the crop improvement. In this chapter, we present a complete and straightforward protocol for wheat transformation via biolistic bombardment system. Although wheat is still one of the hardest plant species to transform, this protocol offers an optimized and efficient system to produce transgenic plants. To demonstrate the application of this protocol, in this chapter we describe an example of obtaining transgenic wheat by the co-bombardment of two plasmids, containing a green fluorescent protein gene and a glufosinate herbicide selection gene, respectively. In addition, procedures for the screening and testing of putative transgenic plants are described. This protocol has been successfully applied to generate stable transgenic bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) in both spring and winter varieties.
Keywords: Biolistics; Embryogenic callus; GFP; Genome editing; Particle bombardment; Wheat.