Time-course of Phenotypic Expression of Escherichia coli Gene Z following Transgenosis in Haploid Lycopersicon esculentum Cells

Abstract

THE general phenomenon of the transfer of genetic information from one cell to another, followed by phenotypic expression (especially if the donor and recipient cells are separated widely by evolution), has been called transgenosis^1–4. We have described the transgenosis of three systems of genes (gal operon, lac operon, supF⁺ suppressor) from the bacterium Escherichia coli to haploid cells of the higher plants Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato) and Arabidopsis thaliana^1–4. Haploidy was not essential for the transgenosis of supF⁺ and in principle this should hold for the other examples. Haploidy has potential importance, however, for the future application of transgenosis in plant breeding. For both L. esculentum and A. thaliana the cells sensitive to phage mediated transgenosis must be obtained from medium favouring “non-differentiated” growth^2,5,6.