Calendar Name: seminars
Scheduled for: Thursday, September 6 2012, 14:00 - 15:30
Event text: Prof Alexander Vainstein
Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture
The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and
Environment
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Rehovot
Israel
Details: POSTDOC INNOVATION SEMINAR
�Permanent genome modifications in plant cells by
transient viral vectors�
ABSTRACT
The ability to modify genome sequences in plant cells is
fundamental to modern agriculture. Naturally occurring
and artificial rare-cutting endonucleases (i.e. zinc
finger nuclease, homing endonuclease or TAL effector
nuclease) have been used for targeted mutagenesis in
model and crop species. However, stable transformation
is the preferred method for gene expression in plant
species, and nuclease-expressing transgenic plants have
been used for recovery of mutants that are likely to be
classified as transgenic due to the use of direct
gene-transfer methods into the target cells. We
developed an alternative, non-transgenic approach for
nuclease delivery and production of mutant plants using
a novel Tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based expression
system for indirect transient delivery of nucleases into
a variety of tissues and cells of intact plants. Since
viral vectors can spread into the growing and developing
tissues of infected plants, the novel approach of
genome-editing provides a unique opportunity to bypass
the regeneration step that is often required in direct
gene-transfer methods.
