PRODUCTION OF TRANSGENIC RICE (ORYZA-SATIVA L) PLANTS FROM AGRONOMICALLY IMPORTANT INDICA AND JAPONICA VARIETIES VIA ELECTRIC-DISCHARGE PARTICLE-ACCELERATION OF EXOGENOUS DNA INTO IMMATURE ZYGOTIC EMBRYOS

We have recovered transgenic rice plants from a number of commercially important cultivars, including until now recalcitrant Indica varieties, using electric discharge particle acceleration. Immature embryos from greenhouse-grown plants were bombarded with gold particles carrying DNA, and transgenic plants were recovered following a simple culture protocol. Mendelian segregation of foreign genes was observed in R1 progeny and stable integration was demonstrated by Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA isolated from progeny plants. Alternative transformation protocols that are dependent on the development of protoplast and suspension culture systems are no longer necessary as we have shown that a wide variety of diverse cultivars can be transformed. Transgenic plants expressing agronomically useful traits such as herbicide resistance have been obtained and are currently undergoing further evaluation. This report also demonstrates that it is possible to produce transgenic monocoty-ledonous plants by transforming scutellar tissue of immature embryos.