Search

A detailed protocol for PEG-mediated plastid transformation of Lactuca sativa cv. Flora, using leaf protoplasts, is described. Successful plastid transformation using protoplasts requires a large number of viable cells, high plating densities, and an efficient regeneration system. Transformation was achieved using a vector that targets genes to the trnI/trnA intergenic region of the lettuce plastid genome. The aadA gene, encoding an adenylyltransferase enzyme that confers spectinomycin resistance, was used as a selectable marker. With the current method, the expected transformation frequency is 1-2 spectinomycin-resistant cell lines per 10(6) viable protoplasts. Fertile, diploid, homoplasmic, plastid-transformed lines were obtained. Transmission of the plastid-encoded transgene to the T1 generation was demonstrated.

Although plastid transformation in higher plants was first demonstrated in the early 1990s it is only recently that the technology is being extended to a broader range of species. To date, the production of fertile transplastomic plants has been reported for tobacco, tomato, petunia, soybean, cotton and Lesquerella fendleri (Brassicaceae). In this study we demonstrate a polyethylene glycol-mediated plastid transformation system for lettuce that generates fertile, homoplasmic, plastid-transformed lines. Transformation was achieved using a vector that targets genes to the trnA/trnI intergenic region of the lettuce plastid genome employing the aadA gene as a selectable marker against spectinomycin. Spectinomycin resistance and heterologous gene transcription were shown in T(1) plants derived from self-pollinated primary regenerants demonstrating transmission of the plastid-encoded transgene to the first seed generation. Crossing with male sterile wild-type lettuce showed that spectinomycin resistance was not transmitted via pollen. Constructs containing the gfp gene showed plastid-based expression of green fluorescent protein. The lettuce plastid could have potential both as a production and a delivery system for edible human therapeutic proteins.