Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T05:52:01.215Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Molecular biology: application to studies of stress tolerance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2010

T. J. Flowers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
M. B. Jones
Affiliation:
Trinity College, Dublin
Get access

Summary

Introduction

Research on genetic manipulation of plants has accelerated dramatically during the past five years. This has exploited ‘natural’ gene delivery systems, leading to the development of vectors, and a number of ‘vectorless’ DNA delivery systems. Further, since plants show extensive powers of regeneration it is, for many species, possible to grow whole plants from genetically engineered cells. Formation of flowers on the genetically engineered plants, followed by pollination, fertilisation, embryogenesis and seed set will then lead to the transmission of the acquired gene to the next generation, provided of course that the gene in question is stably incorporated into the host plant's genome.

In this chapter we first discuss the development of systems for delivering DNA to plant cells. The remainder of the chapter then outlines the ways in which molecular genetics can be applied to research on stress tolerance, giving examples where these techniques are being used.

Systems for gene transfer

For a detailed discussion of DNA delivery systems, readers are referred to the recent very comprehensive review by Walden (1988). Here we concentrate on the two methods most used in stress tolerance studies.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its tumour-inducing plasmid

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil-dwelling bacterium which readily infects a wide range of dicotyledonous plants, usually gaining entry via a wound site. Infection causes the growth of a tumour, usually at the original infection site (Fig. 1) and once the tumour is established it will grow in the absence of bacterial cells.

Type
Chapter
Information
Plants under Stress
Biochemistry, Physiology and Ecology and their Application to Plant Improvement
, pp. 131 - 156
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×