Advanced Expression Vector Systems: New Weapons for Plant Research and Biotechnology

摘要

Scientific discoveries often coincide with the development of new and robust methodologies. Modern plant biology and biotechnology are of no exception to this rule, especially when it comes to production of new vector systems for gene expression. Thus, for example, the progress in plant genetic engineering could not have been as productive as it is today without the development of small, easy-to-manipulate, and simple-to-use Agrobacterium binary vectors (e.g. Komari et al., 2006; Komori et al., 2007), and studies of protein subcellular localization in plant cells have been greatly simplified and advanced with the introduction of vectors that express GFP fusions (Goodin et al., 2007). Indeed, the ability to transiently and stably express foreign genes, to genetically interfere with the expression of native genes, and to functionally study the expression, interaction, localization, and modification of proteins in cells, tissues, and whole plants are fundamental to modern plant basic research and biotechnology.