Identification of transferred DNA insertions within Arabidopsis genes involved in signal transduction and ion transport

The transferred DNA (T-DNA) of Agrobacterium tumefaciens serves as an insertional mutagen once integrated into a host plant's genome, As a means of facilitating reverse genetic analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana, we have developed a method that allows one to search for plants carrying T-DNA insertions within any sequenced Arabidopsis gene, Using PCR, we screened a collection of 9100 independent T-DNA-transformed Arabidopsis lines and found 17 T-DNA insertions within the 63 genes analyzed, The genes surveyed include members of various gene families involved in signal transduction and ion transport, As an example, data are shown for a T-DNA insertion that was found within CPK-9, a member of the gene family encoding calmodulin-domain protein kinases.