title: Ammonium nitrate improves direct somatic embryogenesis and biolistic transformation of Triticum aestivum.
abstract: Triticum aestivum is of major importance both nutritionally and economically. Introduction of new genes has been difficult to apply to elite wheat varieties mainly as a result of their recalcitrance to prerequisite tissue culture. We attempted to improve the frequency of wheat transformation by exposing plants to high level of ammonium nitrate. Our experiments showed that modification of the ammonium nitrate content in the direct somatic embryogenesis induction medium can increase the number of primary embryos produced over twofold in the elite hard red wheat cultivar Superb. The number of primary embryos that were capable of transitioning into shoot development also increased twofold. Biolistic transformation efficiency improved as much as sevenfold when targeted scutellar tissue was exposed to elevated ammonium nitrate levels. This simple approach could become extremely useful for increasing transformation efficiency in wheat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kovalchuk
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eudes
mesh_terms: D019470:Biolistics / Q000379:methods*; D003470:Culture Media; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D017343:Genes, Plant; D009566:Nitrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000494:pharmacology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012038:Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D036226:Seedlings / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D014170:Transformation, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D014908:Triticum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D009566:Nitrates; D009584:Nitrogen; C006568:ammonium nitrate