Source: CropBiotech Update

Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer has long been the tool of choice by scientists interested in the function of genes. The technique, however, takes a long time to perform. With this in mind, Diego Orases, of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, and colleagues carry out “Agroinjection of Tomato Fruits: A Tool for Rapid Functional Analysis of Transgenes Directly in Fruit.” Their article appears in the latest issue of Plant Physiology.

The researchers found that injection of Agrobacterium cultures through the fruit stylar apex of tomatoes resulted in complete fruit infiltration, and allowed tomato cells to express a foreign gene. The method, named fruit agroinjection, was efficient when used in heat-shock regulation of an Arabidopsis promoter, production of recombinant antibodies for molecular farming, and virus-induced gene silencing of the carotene biosynthesis pathway.

With the appropriate controls, researchers surmise that the technique will be a useful tool in fruit biology, as it may be helpful when assaying fruit gene constructs that may interfere with plant developmental processes.

Abstract: www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/140/1/3