Genetic modifications as a future prospect in the improvement of the major qualitative traits of cereals. A review

Abstract

Progress in cereals transformation which can be observed for last two decades has great importance in the development of plant science and agriculture. So far, non-vector techniques, particularly direct gene transfer using „gene gun”, have been often applied in cereals transformation. However, agrobiotechnology achievements enabled cereals transformation with the soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Initially, it was believed that this technique cannot be applied to cereals because monocotyledones are outside the host range of the crown gall disease. Nowadays, the top five cereals with the highest economic significance – rice (Oryza sativa L.), maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) are quite efficiently transformed by A. tumefaciens. By means of molecular genetic tools it is possible to obtain cereals with new, improved traits. The present paper is focused on agricultural development which can by observed by the application of GM cereals tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress factors. Moreover, we summarized the latest achievements in cereals transformation.

Keywords

• transformation
• Agrobacterium tumefaciens
• cereals
• stress tolerance