Purpose

Significant limitations exist with the current maize gene transformation protocols. As a result, the production of transgenic maize has primarily been conducted in private industry and in a few specialized university laboratories. Improvements in maize transforming technology in the public sector have not kept pace with the exponential increase in gene sequence information.

Purpose of this research is to provide a reliable, efficient, and publicly available gene transfer system for maize that would significantly enhance the value obtained from current investments in genomics research. The manipulated expression of genes in transgenic plants is a powerful approach to directly characterize gene function.

Objectives

The primary goal for this research is to develop an improved system for efficient Agrobacterium-mediated maize transformation.

The methods developed will build upon previously established protocols for maize transformation by microprojectile bombardment and proprietary Agrobacterium-mediated maize transformation procedures. Three main objectives are:

• Objective 1: Optimize parameters to maximize transformation frequency and expand the range of maize genotypes for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation to include germplasm that maximizes agronomic performance and transformation efficiency.
  
  
• Objective2: Evaluate selectable marker genes for use in Agrobacterium-mediated maize transformation.
  
  
• Objective 3: Evaluate the potential of using seed derived calli as a target for maize Agrobacterium transformation.

Impact

To remove the maize transformation bottleneck that inhibits maize biotechnology research in the public sector.

Improved procedures would allow researchers to attack the backlog of candidate genes that could be evaluated for their potential in crop improvement.