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Texas Tech Publishes Rapid In‑Planta Method to Grow Transgenic, Gene‑Edited Shoots in Weeks

A peer‑reviewed study describes a wound‑triggered regeneration cascade delivered by engineered Agrobacterium.

Overview

  • Researchers report measurable transgenic shoot formation across species, including approximately 35% in Nicotiana, 21% in tomato, and 28% in soybean using a modified protocol.
  • The approach exploits plants’ wound‑induced regeneration by delivering regulators such as WIND1 and ESR1/IPT via Agrobacterium to induce shoot growth carrying new DNA.
  • In soybean, treating germinating seeds followed by about 3.5 weeks in tissue culture produced edited shoots, compared with a conventional timeline of roughly 3–4 months.
  • The system integrates with CRISPR tools, reducing dependence on lengthy tissue‑culture steps and potentially broadening access to crop transformation.
  • The authors present a proof‑of‑concept that requires optimization for additional crops and further assessment of scalability, biosafety, and regulatory considerations.