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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #99267
Title: SEGREGATION FOR GUS GENE IN TRANSGENIC COTTON

Author
item MCCUTCHEON, C - STUDENT
item May Iii, Oscar

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/22/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Transgenic crop breeding can be facilitated through the use of a convenient selectable marker such as the B-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. However, the inheritance of genes inserted into plants via biotechnological approaches may not follow established rules. We report findings from a two-year study of the segregation for the GUS gene in transgenic cotton populations. Cotton transformation was accomplished through particle bombardment of 'Deltapine 50' meristems by the Agracetus unit of Monsanto. Segregation for the GUS gene was assessed with a simple histochemical assay of leaf and/or pollen tissue. We studied inheritance of GUS in progeny derived from the original transformed RO Deltapine 50 plant and in F2 populations created by outcrossing GUS-expressive plants to various upland germplasms. Non-mendelian inheritance of the GUS gene was found in both Deltapine 50 populations and outcross-derived F2 populations. Significantly fewer GUS-expressive progeny were recovered than expected. These data indicate that breeders may need to increase population sizes to allow for the reduced recovery of transgenic types.