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Patent application filed by The Department of Primary Industries of Queensland

The present disclosure refers to transformation of monocot cells through Agrobacterium. The explant to be transformed can be from any monocotyledonous plant. An advantage of the disclosed method according to the applicant is that the transformed monocot cells form an organogenic callus instead of an embryogenic callus. A modified monocot plant is regenerated from the organogenic callus formed by the selected transformed plant cells.

The application does not provide a definition for either organogenic or embryogenic callus. According to commonly accepted definitions in the scientific literature (which may or may not be used to construe the patent claims), during the development of an organogenic callus, the shoot or root organ, usually a shoot, is induced to form first, followed by root or shoot formation from that shoot or root. In an embryogenic callus type, embryo-like structures develop, called somatic embryos, that then simultaneously develop shoots and roots. Use of embryogenic callus, according to the applicant, is time consuming, labor intensive and not always successful.

Specific Patent Information

Patent Number Title, Independent Claims and Summary of Claims Assignee
WO 01/33943 A1

  • Earliest priority – 5 November 1999
  • Filed – 3 November 2000
  • OPI – 17 May 2001
  • Expected expiry – N/A
 Title – A method of plant transformation

Claim 1A method of transforming cells of a monocotyledonous plant with genetic material, said method comprising:

A) obtaining an explant from said plant;
B) co-cultivating the explant with Agrobacterium species having a T-DNA or T-DNA region comprising the genetic material to be transformed into the plant cells for a time and under conditions sufficient for the genetic material to transfer into the plant cells without said Agrobacterium overgrowing the plant cells; and
C) selecting for the transformed plant cells and permitting the cells to form organogenic callus.
Claim 21A method for producing a genetically modified monocotyledonous plant, said method comprising:

A) obtaining explant from a plant to be genetically modified;
B) co-cultivating the explant with Agrobacterium species having a T-DNA or T-DNA region comprising genetic material to be transformed into said plant cells for a time and under conditions sufficient for the genetic material to transfer to plant cells without said Agrobacterium overgrowing the plant cells;
C) selecting transformed plant cells and permitting the cells to form organogenic callus; and then
D) regenerating a plant from selected transformed plant cells.
Claim 41A method for producing a genetically modified monocotyledonous plant, said method comprising:

A) obtaining an explant from said plant to be genetically modified;
B) co-cultivating the explant with Agrobacterium species having a T-DNA or T-DNA region comprising the genetic material to be transformed into the plant cells for a time and under conditions sufficient for the genetic material to transfer into the plant cells without the Agrobacterium overgrowing the plant cells;
C) selecting for the transformed plant cells and permitting the cells to form organogenic callus; and
D) regenerating a plant from said transformed organogenic callus.

The present PCT application recites:

  • method of transforming cells of a monocot plant by co-cultivating an explant with Agrobacterium having a T-DNA with genetic material to be transferred into the plant cells. The bacteria do not overgrow the plant cells and the selected transformed cells form an organogenic callus.
  • a method for producing modified monocot plants by regenerating a plant from the organogenic callus containing the transformed cells.

The present application also contains independent claims directed to methods for transforming of pineapple plants (Claims 60 and 77). They are discussed under the section Particular monocots – Pineapple.

The Department of Primary Industries of Queensland
AU 779510 B2

  • Earliest priority – 5 November 1999
  • Filed – 3 Nov 2000
  • Granted – 27 Jan 2005
  • Expected expiry – 2 Nov 2020
 Title – A method of plant transformation

Claim 1

A method of transforming cells of a pineapple plant with genetic material, said method comprising:

A) obtaining an explant from said plant;
B) co-cultivating the explant with Agrobacterium species having a T-DNA or T-DNA region comprising the genetic material to be transformed into the plant cells for a time and under conditions sufficient for the genetic material to transfer into the plant cells without said Agrobacterium overgrowing the plant cells; and
C) selecting for the transformed plant cells and permitting the cells to form organogenic callus.
Claim 19

A method for producing a genetically modified pineapple plant, said method comprising:

A) obtaining explant from a plant to be genetically modified;
B) co-cultivating the explant with Agrobacterium species having a T-DNA or T-DNA region comprising genetic material to be transformed into said plant cells for a time and under conditions sufficient for the genetic material to transfer to plant cells without said Agrobacterium overgrowing the plant cells;
C) selecting transformed plant cells and permitting the cells to form organogenic callus; and then
D) regenerating a plant from selected transformed plant cells.
Claim 37

A method for producing a genetically modified pineapple plant, said method comprising:

A) obtaining an explant from said plant to be genetically modified;
B) co-cultivating the explant with Agrobacterium species having a T-DNA or T-DNA region comprising the genetic material to be transformed into the plant cells for a time and under conditions sufficient for the genetic material to transfer into the plant cells without the Agrobacterium overgrowing the plant cells;
C) selecting for the transformed plant cells and permitting the cells to form organogenic callus; and
D) regenerating a plant from said transformed organogenic callus.

This granted patent is a national phase entry of WO 01/33943 (see above).

All three independent claims in the granted patent are limited to a “pineapple plant” instead of a “monocotyledonous plant”.

Note: Patent information on this page was last updated on 5 February 2006.