THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VARIETY-INDEPENDENT GENE-TRANSFER METHOD FOR RICE

The absence of variety-independent transformation methods has, until now, made the practical application of recombinant DNA techniques to cereal improvement programs very difficult. The recent development of a genotype-independent gene transfer method for rice, using organized tissue, circumvents limitations imposed by embryogenic suspension cultures or protoplast regeneration systems, and has enabled us to recover transgenic rice plants from diverse, commercially important cultivars within eight to ten weeks of gene transfer. This system should provide a route for developing methods of gene transfer into a wide range of cereal crops.