Norway spruce (Picea abies) genetic transformation with modified Cry3A gene of Bacillus thuringiensis.

Modified versions of the Cry3A gene of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) were transferred into Norway spruce (Picea abies). Both the biolistic approach and Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated procedure were employed for transformation of embryogenic tissue (ET) cultures. The latter method proved to be more efficient yielding 70 transgenic embryogenic tissue lines compared with 18 lines obtained by biolistics.

Antiviral activity of tenofovir against Cauliflower mosaic virus and its metabolism in Brassica pekinensis plants.

The antiviral effect of the acyclic nucleoside phosphonate tenofovir (R)-PMPA on double-stranded DNA Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) in Brassica pekinensis plants grown in vitro on liquid medium was evaluated. Double antibody sandwich ELISA and PCR were used for relative quantification of viral protein and detecting nucleic acid in plants. (R)-PMPA at concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/l significantly reduced CaMV titers in plants within 6-9 weeks to levels detectable neither by ELISA nor by PCR.

New in vitro method for evaluating antiviral activity of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates against plant viruses.

A new method was developed for testing antiviral compounds against plant viruses based on rapidly growing brassicas in vitro on liquid medium. This method enables exchange of media containing tested chemicals in various concentrations and simultaneous evaluation of their phytotoxicity and antiviral activity. While using ribavirin as a standard for comparison, phytotoxicity and ability of the acyclic nucleotide analogues (R)-PMPA, PMEA, PMEDAP, and (S)-HPMPC to eliminate ssRNA Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) were evaluated by this method.

Comparison of hCMV immediate early and CaMV 35S promoters in both plant and human cells.

Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, widely used in transgenic crop plants, is known to be recognized in widely differing kinds of cells. Its activity in human cells may have impact on the risk assessment for the environmental release of genetically modified plants. In this study, transient expression of several constructs containing beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene driven by cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter or by immediate early promoter of human cytomegalovirus (pCMV) was tested in both potato leaf protoplasts and cultured human cells.

Transposition patterns of unlinked transposed Ds elements from two T-DNA loci on tomato chromosomes 7 and 8.

We have previously reported that unlinked transposed Ds elements originating from chromosome 4 of tomato preferentially inserted in chromosome 2. This observation, together with data from other studies, suggested that there may be absolute preferences for transposition, irrespective of the chromosomal location of the donor site. The aim of the present work was to verify whether the distribution of transposed Ds elements on chromosome 2 was non-random and thus whether, unlike the case in maize, unlinked transpositions in tomato are not distributed randomly.