Gossypium hirsutum Transformation

Lifeasible is an industrial leader in plant genetic engineering. We provide miscellaneous strategies for the genetic transformation of Gossypium hirsutum (upland cotton). As a major source of fiber, cattle feed, and edible oil, Gossypium hirsutum has very high economical values worldwide.

The growth and development of cotton can be adversely influenced by biotic and abiotic stresses such as viral and fungal infections, insect predation, and drought stress. However, these conditions can be avoided or attenuated via genetic modifications. For instance, transgenic cotton plants expressing the Bt gene, a gene that encodes Bt toxin, are able to produce natural insecticide against some of the major pests and have been successfully accommodated in many countries.

Four methods are routinely employed for cotton transformation including:

• Agrobacterium-mediated transformation: Explants such as hypocotyls, cotyledonary petiole or shoot apex are cut into segments and cocultivated with Agrobacterium, followed by callus induction and whole plant regeneration. Besides, in planta transformation that requires no tissue culture is also available. Specifically, wounded shoot apical meristems (SAMs) are infected by Agrobacterium, and then grown into adult plants (T0 plants) under proper conditions.
• Biolistic particle delivery system: Embryogenic callus derived from hypocotyls, cotyledonary petiole, or cell suspension cultures are bombarded by gold particles coated with plasmid DNA, followed by plant regeneration. The bombardment is usually performed by the helium-driven biolistic device (Bio-Rad PDS1000/He).
• Pollen tube pathway mediated transformation: Foreign genes are usually introduced into plants by microinjection, direct dropping of DNA to stigma, or Agrobacterium-mediated induction. Inoculated plants are grown in pest/disease-free conditions, and positive transformants will be selected from their offsprings.
• Silicon carbide whiskers -mediated transformation: Silicon carbide whiskers deliver plasmid DNA into target cells by perforation during vortex. Embryogenic calli that been transformed are cultured in aseptic environment until regenerating into fertile plants.

With superior expertise with high reliability, Lifeasible is devoted to guaranteeing the quality and success of each project. We offer customized protocols for worldwide customers with various genetic transformation methods, as aforementioned. We also offer multiple high-class cotton varieties including Coker series, Acala B1654, TM-1 variety, Jin 7, Zhongmian 12, Narasimha, Si Mian3, etc. Moreover, Agrobacterium strains such as GV3101, AGL-1, EHA101, EHA105, LBA4404, and C58C1, as well as standard or super-binary vectors with optional selection markers are also available in our product catalog. Our customer-centered service ensures the quality of your experiments and the success of your research projects.

Figure 1. In planta transformation of cotton by infecting wounded shoot apical meristems (SAMs) with Agrobacterium (Kalbande and Patil, 2016).