Biotech Updates

Producing Marker-Free Site-Specific Transgenic Plants

July 20, 2007

Japanese researchers have demonstrated a method for producing marker-free site-specific transgenic plants, the first time that the concept has been shown to be feasible. Removing the selectable markers in transgenic plants will be beneficial as these sometimes cause concern and fear among consumers, as often these markers are genes conferring resistance to antibiotics. The site-specific integration would also counter the drawbacks of lack of specificity, and the associated problems such as variability and instability of transgenes.

For more information, the paper can be accessed by journal subscribers at
http://www.springerlink.com/content/050441527233w84v/.