An improved and highly standardised transformation procedure allows efficient production of single and multiple targeted gene-knockouts in a moss, Physcomitrella patens

Curr Genet. 2004 Jan;44(6):339-47. doi: 10.1007/s00294-003-0458-4. Epub 2003 Oct 29.

Abstract

The moss Physcomitrella patens is the only land plant known to date with highly efficient homologous recombination in its nuclear DNA, making it a unique model for plant functional genomics approaches. For high-throughput production of knockout plants, a robust transformation system based on polyethylene glycol-mediated transfection of protoplasts was developed and optimised. Both the DNA conformation and pre-culture of plants used for protoplast isolation significantly affected transformation efficiencies. Employing a newly developed PCR high-throughput method, the gene-targeting efficiency in more than 1000 plants transformed with different cDNA-based knockout constructs was determined and analysed with regard to the length and intron/exon structure of the homologous gene locus. Different targeting constructs, each containing an identical selectable marker gene, were applied as batch DNA in a single transformation experiment and resulted in double-knockout plants. Thus, the fast and efficient generation of multiple targeted gene-knockouts is now feasible in Physcomitrella.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Base Sequence
  • Bryopsida / genetics*
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Gene Targeting*
  • Genes, Plant
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Genome, Plant
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Luminescent Proteins / genetics
  • Models, Genetic
  • Plants, Genetically Modified*
  • Protoplasts
  • Recombination, Genetic
  • Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
  • Transformation, Genetic

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary
  • Luminescent Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins