Overview
- Researchers used Agrobacterium engineered with regeneration factors such as WIND1, ESR1 and IPT to induce new shoots directly on wounded plants while introducing new DNA.
- In laboratory tests, the method produced transgenic shoots at about 35% efficiency in tobacco and 21% in tomato, and 28% in soybean using a modified seed-based protocol.
- The soybean workflow cut transformation time from several months to roughly 3.5 weeks under controlled conditions.
- The system is compatible with CRISPR genome editing, enabling precise changes during the same regeneration step.
- The study, led by Gunvant Patil at Texas Tech’s IGCAST with key work by graduate student Arjun Ojha Kshetry, appears in Molecular Plant (2025; DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2025.09.017), and the team is adapting the approach to more crops while further validation and regulatory review remain ahead.