T‐DNA as a gene tag

Abstract

The characteristics of Agrobacterium‐mediated plant transformation are such that the T‐DNA can be used as an insertional mutagen and, by extension, a gene tag. An increasing number of mutants have been obtained as a result of T‐DNA insertion and the versatility of this experimental system can be exploited further to tag sequences of DNA which control gene expression. While the isolation of specific mutations by T‐DNA tagging in the past has been fortuitous, T‐DNA‐based vectors have the potential to generate transgenic plants with specific, selectable mutations.