A large-scale study of rice plants transformed with different T-DNAs provides new insights into locus composition and T-DNA linkage configurations

Theor Appl Genet. 2004 Aug;109(4):815-26. doi: 10.1007/s00122-004-1692-y. Epub 2004 May 15.

Abstract

Transgenic locus composition and T-DNA linkage configuration were assessed in a population of rice plants transformed using the dual-binary vector system pGreen (T-DNA containing the bar and gus genes)/pSoup (T-DNA containing the aphIV and gfp genes). Transgene structure, expression and inheritance were analysed in 62 independently transformed plant lines and in around 4,000 progeny plants. The plant lines exhibited a wide variety of transgenic locus number and composition. The most frequent form of integration was where both T-DNAs integrated at the same locus (56% of loci). When single-type T-DNA integration occurred (44% of loci), pGreen T-DNA was preferentially integrated. In around half of the plant lines (52%), the T-DNAs integrated at two independent loci or more. In these plants, both mixed and single-type T-DNA integration often occurred concurrently at different loci during the transformation process. Non-intact T-DNAs were present in 70-78% of the plant lines causing 14-21% of the loci to contain only the mid to right border part of a T-DNA. In 53-66% of the loci, T-DNA integrated with vector backbone sequences. Comparison of transgene presence and expression in progeny plants showed that segregation of the transgene phenotype was not a reliable indicator of either transgene inheritance or T-DNA linkage, as only 60-80% of the transgenic loci were detected by the expression study. Co-expression (28% of lines) and backbone transfer (53-66% of loci) were generally a greater limitation to the production of marker-free T(1) plants expressing the gene of interest than co-transformation (71% of lines) and unlinked integration (44% of loci).

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Blotting, Southern
  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Gene Expression*
  • Gene Transfer Techniques
  • Genetic Linkage
  • Genetic Vectors / genetics
  • Glucuronidase / metabolism
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Oryza / genetics*
  • Phenotype*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / genetics*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Transgenes / genetics*

Substances

  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • T-DNA
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Glucuronidase