Application of developmental regulators to improve in planta or in vitro transformation in plants

Plant genetic transformation is a crucial step for applying biotechnology such as genome editing to basic and applied plant science research. Its success primarily relies on the efficiency of gene delivery into plant cells and the ability to regenerate transgenic plants. In this study, we have examined the effect of several developmental regulators (DRs), including PLETHORA (PLT5), WOUND INDUCED DEDIFFERENTIATION 1 (WIND1), ENHANCED SHOOT REGENERATION (ESR1), WUSHEL (WUS) and a fusion of WUS and BABY-BOOM (WUS-P2A-BBM), on in planta transformation through injection of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus). The results showed that PLT5, WIND1 and WUS promoted in planta transformation of snapdragons. An additional test of these three DRs on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) further demonstrated that the highest in planta transformation efficiency was observed from PLT5. PLT5 promoted calli formation and regeneration of transformed shoots at the wound positions of aerial stems, and the transgene was stably inherited to the next generation in snapdragons. Additionally, PLT5 significantly improved the shoot regeneration and transformation in two Brassica cabbage varieties (Brassica rapa) and promoted the formation of transgenic calli and somatic embryos in sweet pepper (Capsicum annum) through in vitro tissue culture. Despite some morphological alternations, viable seeds were produced from the transgenic Bok choy and snapdragons. Our results have demonstrated that manipulation of PLT5 could be an effective approach for improving in planta and in vitro transformation efficiency, and such a transformation system could be used to facilitate the application of genome editing or other plant biotechnology application in modern agriculture.