Transformation of Wheat via Particle Bombardment

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the number-one food crop in the world based on acreage under cultivation and total production. It is also the most widely cultivated crop as a result of breeding for adaptation to a wide range of ecological conditions Wheat was first domesticated nearly 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of the Tigris-Euphrates basin in southwestern Asia. As a major commodity in international agriculture, and an important source of nutrition and protein in the human diet, wheat has long played a central role in world food security. During 1965–1990, introduction of the Green Revolution high-input and high-yielding varieties led to a nearly threefold increase in world wheat production. However, increases in the productivity of wheat and other major food crops attained through breeding and selection have begun to decline. This is happening at a time when nearly a third (34%) of the wheat crop is lost to pests, pathogens, and weeds (1), in addition to postharvest losses during storage. Introduction of single genes through genetic transformation into crops such as maize, soybean, potato, canola, and cotton, has shown that such losses cannot only be greatly reduced or even eliminated, but can also result m reduced use of pesticides and herbicides.