Transformation improvement with the Standardized Pressure Agrobacterium Infiltration Device (SPAID)

• Published in: BMC research notes Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 144
• Main Authors: Mad' Atari, Mohamad Fadhli Bin, Folta, Kevin M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 15-03-2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adventitious shoots; Agrobacterium; Agrobacterium tumefaciens - genetics; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis thaliana; Bacteria; Contact angle; Containers; Diploid strawberry; Ethanol; Fragaria - genetics; Gene expression; Genetic Engineering - instrumentation; Genetic Engineering - methods; Laboratories; Localization; Methods; Nicotiana - genetics; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified; Pressure; Proteins; Reproducibility of Results; Research Note; Stable; Strawberries; Transformation; Transformation, Genetic; Transient; Arabidopsis thaliana; Nicotiana benthamiana; Transformation; Agrobacterium; Stable; Transient; Adventitious shoots; Fragaria vesca; Diploid strawberry
• ISSN: 1756-0500; 1756-0500
• DOI: 10.1186/s13104-019-4117-3

The treatment of plant tissue with Agrobacterium tumefaciens is often a critical first step to both stable and transient plant transformation. In both applications bacterial suspensions are oftentimes physically introduced into plant tissues using hand-driven pressure from a needleless syringe. While effective, this approach has several drawbacks that limit reproducibility. Pressure must be provided with the syringe perfectly perpendicular to the tissue surface. The researcher must also attempt to provide even and consistent pressure, both within and between experimental replicates. These factors mean that the procedures do not always translate well between research groups or biological replicates.
We have devised a method to introduce Agrobacterium suspensions into plant leaves with greater reproducibility. Using a decommissioned dissecting microscope as an armature, a syringe body with the bacterial suspension is mounted to the nosepiece. Gentle, even pressure is applied by rotating the focus knob. The treatment force is measured using a basic kitchen scale. The development of the Standardized Pressure Agrobacterium Infiltration Device (SPAID) provides a means to deliver consistent amounts of bacterial suspensions into plant tissues with the goal of increasing reproducibility between replicates and laboratories.