Gene introduction approaches in chloroplast transformation and its applications

Abstract

Background Chloroplast is a type of plastid that is believed to be originated from ancestral cyanobacteria. Chloroplast besides being a major component for photosynthesis, also takes part in another major plant metabolism, making it one of the major components of plants. Main body Chloroplast transformation is an alternative and better genetic engineering approach compared to the nuclear transformation that has been widely applied in plant genetic engineering. Chloroplast transformation has exhibited various positive effects as compared to nuclear transformation. This is a more preferred technique by researchers. To carry out chloroplast transformation, the vector design must be performed, and a selectable marker needs to be incorporated before the chloroplast could uptake the construct. The common way of introducing a gene into the host, which is the chloroplast, involves the biolistic, PEG-mediated, carbon nanotubes carriers, UV-laser microbeam, and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation approaches. Apart from discussing the processes involved in introducing the gene into the chloroplast, this review also focuses on the various applications brought about by chloroplast transformation, particularly in the field of agriculture and environmental science. Conclusion Chloroplast transformation has shown a lot of advantages and proven to be a better alternative compared to nuclear genome transformation. Further studies must be conducted to uncover new knowledge regarding chloroplast transformation as well as to discover its additional applications in the fields of biotechnology.

Development of chloroplast transformation and gene expression regulation technology in land plants

“…In seed plants, chloroplast transformation will face greater challenges because it always contains 1,000–2,000 copies of the chloroplast genome and approximately 100 chloroplasts per mature leaf mesophyll cell ( Golczyk et al., 2014 ). Over the last several decades, the fundamental methods of introducing foreign DNA into chloroplasts have not significantly changed ( Zienkiewicz et al., 2017 ; Kumar and Ling, 2021 ). Chloroplast transformation was once realized through biolistic delivery, polyether polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated delivery, or Agrobacterium -mediated delivery.…”

“…These approaches require the regeneration of genetically modified progeny plants, which can be challenging and require lengthy procedures. Therefore, effective transformation protocols have been designed for a very limited range of plants to date ( Ruf et al., 2021 ; Kumar and Ling, 2021 ). The traditional transformation techniques have important limitations—for example, PEG-mediated transformation requires the subsequent regeneration of stable plant lines from isolated protoplasts that have their cell walls removed, which is an extremely complex and time-consuming process that has not been well developed in most plants ( Cunningham et al., 2018 ).…”

Poaceae Chloroplast Genome Sequencing: Great Leap Forward in Recent Ten Years

“…Although the introduction of exogenous DNA into the nuclear genome is the most prevalent transgenic approach in most species, genetic transformation of the chloroplast genome is also a promising area. The chloroplast genome has several characteristics that make it a better carrier for added genes than the nuclear genome [ 160 ]. For example, chloroplasts are maternally inherited in angiosperms, limiting the risk of target gene spreading.…”

Risks and Risk Assessment of Gm Crops With Advanced Modification Technologies

“…The transfer results in the production of several distinctive properties. By acting as a vector, the bacterium enables the introduction of foreign genes into plants (Kumar and Ling 2021). Agrobacterium strains with diseasecausing genes removed were created in the early 1980s(Hwang, Yu et al 2017), but they could still attach to and transfer DNA from susceptible plant cells.…”