Preston Polczynski
Pronouns: he/him/his
Research Mentor(s): Ping He
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology / LSA
Program:
Authors: Preston Polczynski, Rachel Rivero, Saarim Iqbal, Ping He, Libo Shan
Session: Session 6: 3:40 pm – 4:30 pm
Poster: 62
Abstract
Plant bioengineering currently faces challenges with tissue-culture regeneration, limiting its potential for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications. The plant Kalanchoe laetivirens (Kl) reproduces rapidly by growing hundreds of clonal plantlets along leaf margins, giving it the common name “Mother of Thousands.” Kalanchoe is a genus with >100 unique species belonging to the Crassulaceae family of succulents that possess the specialized photosynthesis mode of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). This increases water-use efficiency in arid environments, facilitating drought tolerance and minimizing maintenance needs. These characteristics provide a unique opportunity to explore Kl applications in biotechnology. Manipulation of parental leaves bypasses conventional tissue culture-based transformation to produce genetically modified plants. Agrobacterium-mediated delivery of recombinant proteins into parental leaves allows for stem cell incorporation and an unlimited supply of transgenic plants. In this study, the reporter gene GUS was transiently expressed in leaf tissue through vacuum infiltration. The highly efficient Agrobacterium strains were identified by monitoring tissue expression after infiltration. Successful transient expression provides a foundational approach for the development of a transformation protocol to explore the regenerative capabilities of Kalanchoe.
