Generation of single-copy T-DNA transformants in Arabidopsis by the CRE/loxP recombination-mediated resolution system

Plant Physiol. 2007 Dec;145(4):1171-82. doi: 10.1104/pp.107.104067. Epub 2007 Aug 10.

Abstract

We investigated whether complex T-DNA loci, often resulting in low transgene expression, can be resolved efficiently into single copies by CRE/loxP-mediated recombination. An SB-loxP T-DNA, containing two invertedly oriented loxP sequences located inside and immediately adjacent to the T-DNA border ends, was constructed. Regardless of the orientation and number of SB-loxP-derived T-DNAs integrated at one locus, recombination between the outermost loxP sequences in direct orientation should resolve multiple copies into a single T-DNA copy. Seven transformants with a complex SB-loxP locus were crossed with a CRE-expressing plant. In three hybrids, the complex T-DNA locus was reduced efficiently to a single-copy locus. Upon segregation of the CRE recombinase gene, only the simplified T-DNA locus was found in the progeny, demonstrating DNA had been excised efficiently in the progenitor cells of the gametes. In the two transformants with an inverted T-DNA repeat, the T-DNA resolution was accompanied by at least a 10-fold enhanced transgene expression. Therefore, the resolution of complex loci to a single-copy T-DNA insert by the CRE/loxP recombination system can become a valuable method for the production of elite transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that are less prone to gene silencing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • DNA, Bacterial*
  • Gene Dosage*
  • Gene Expression
  • Integrases / metabolism
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Transformation, Genetic*
  • Transgenes*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Messenger
  • T-DNA
  • Cre recombinase
  • Integrases