| Abstract |
Take a technological breakthrough, add a fortuitous break, and you may get the ingredients for another breakthrough. Can a gene that makes rice immune to rust, the worst disease of wheat, point the way to new strategies for wheat to fight disease? Last year, Alessandro Pellegrineschi, a cell biologist with CIMMYT, considerably raised the transformation rate of wheat -the percentage of wheat plant clones that successfully incorporate a new gene and associated traits through genetic engineering. Transformation rates are critical to the successful use of genetic engineering for plant improvement. Low rates greatly reduce the likelihood of producing a viable plant with a selected gene and trait. High rates produce more viable plants and give researchers and breeders more materials with which to experiment. |
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