Plant Transformation Process

Okanagan Specialty Fruits uses a number of different transformation approaches depending on the plant species.  Protocols also vary within species, and among different tree fruit varieties.  To genetically modify fruit using precision breeding, we use plant tissue predisposed to transformation.  This may be from leaf pieces (meristematic tissue) or from plant embryos (seed-derived tissue).  Previous developers of agricultural biotechnology products frequently-used plant selection genes to help differentiate the transgenic events after transformation.  One of the challenges of precision breeding is to find the plants of possible commercial interest without a selection gene.  The flow diagram below illustrates a general plant transformation approach.