Activity of yeast FLP recombinase in maize and rice protoplasts

Abstract

We have demonstrated that a yeast FLP/FRT sitespecific recombination system functions In maize and rice protopiasts. FLP recombinase activity was monitored by reactivation of β-glucuronidase (GUS) expression from vectors containing the gusA gene Inactivated by insertion of two FRTs (FLP recombination targets) and a 1.31 kb DNA fragment. The stimulation of GUS activity in protoplasts cotransformed with vectors containing FRT inactivated gusA gene and a chimeric FLP gene depended on both the expression of the FLP recombinase and the presence and structure of the FRT sites. The FLP enzyme could mediate Inter- and intramolecular recombination in plant protopiasts. These resub provide evidence that a yeast recombination system can function efficiently in plant cells, and that its performance can be manipulated by structural modification of the FRT sites. © 1993 Oxford University Press.