Transgenic cotton resistant to herbicide bialaphos

Resistance to bialaphos, a non-selective herbicide, was introduced into cotton through genetic engineering. A gene encoding phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (bar) from Streptomyces hygroscopicus was inserted into elite varieties of cotton through particle bombardment. Based on the marker gene, beta-glucuronidase ( gus) expression, a total of 18 Pima (Gossypium barbadense), 45 DP50 (G. hirsutum L.), 20 Coker 312 (G. hirsutum) and 2 El Dorado (G. hirsutum) transgenic plants were recovered. Integration of the bar gene into cotton genomic DNA was confirmed by Southern blot analysis and gene expression was confirmed by northern blot and enzyme assays. Herbicide (Basta(R)) tolerance up to 15,000 ppm was demonstrated in greenhouse trials. The newly introduced herbicide tolerance trait is inherited in a Mendelian fashion in the progenies of germline transformants. This study demonstrates the potential for particle bombardment to introduce commerically important genes directly into elite varieties of cotton. This mode of gene transfer can expedite the introduction of transgenic cotton products into world markets.