TY - JOUR TI - Higher plant transformation: principles and molecular tools AU - Anami, Sylvester AU - Njuguna, Elizabeth AU - Coussens, Griet AU - Aesaert, Stijn AU - Van Lijsebettens, Mieke T2 - The International Journal of Developmental Biology AB - In higher plants, genetic transformation, which is part of the toolbox for the study of living organisms, had been reported only 30 years ago, boosting basic plant biology research, generating superior crops, and leading to the new discipline of plant biotechnology. Here, we review its principles and the corresponding molecular tools. In vitro regeneration, through somatic embryogenesis or organogenesis, is discussed because they are prerequisites for the subsequent Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transferred (T)-DNA or direct DNA transfer methods to produce transgenic plants. Important molecular components of the T-DNA are examined, such as selectable marker genes that allow the selection of transformed cells in tissue cultures and are used to follow the gene of interest in the next generations, and reporter genes that have been developed to visualize promoter activities, protein localizations, and protein-protein interactions. Genes of interest are assembled with promoters and termination signals in Escherichia coli by means of GATEWAY-derived binary vectors that represent the current versatile cloning tools. Finally, future promising developments in transgene technology are considered. PY - 2013 DO - 10.1387/ijdb.130232mv VL - 57 IS - 6-7-8 SP - 483 EP - 494 J2 - Int. J. Dev. Biol. LA - en SN - 0214-6282 SN - 1696-3547 UR - https://ijdb.ehu.eus/article/130232mv Y2 - 2024/04/30/06:55:43 ER -