Non-antibiotic based selection-marker for selecting marker-safe plants in rice

The invention of antibiotic or herbicide marker-free transgenic plants addresses pressing needs related to biosafety, environmental sustainability, regulatory compliance, and consumer acceptance. By eliminating the use of antibiotic or herbicide resistance genes as selection markers, this technology offers a safer and more environmentally friendly approach to genetic modification, supporting the development of genetically modified crops that meet the highest standards of safety and sustainability.

• Quality: The technology is robust and can be applied on a large number of rice genotypes.
• Enhanced efficacy: This is highly efficient non-antibiotic-based selection system. MG-based selection method is a useful and efficient system for selection of transformed plants without significantly compromising the transformation efficiency.
• Cost advantage: The described technology offers a cost advantage due to its reduced labour cost.
• Ease of use: Simple to use

To counter the above-mentioned concerns, we initiated to develop a unique non-antibiotic-based selection system that offers a more natural and safe approach to select putative transgenic plants. The system is based on MG as the selection agent and plant glyoxalase pathway genes (GlyI + GlyII) as selectable markers. Like MG, the glyoxalase pathway is also ubiquitous and catalyzes the conversion of MG to D-lactate via GLYI and GLYII enzymes using glutathione (GSH) as a cofactor in the process. Therefore, considering the intrinsic nature of both MG and glyoxalases in plants, it is highly likely that MG can serve as a bio-safe selection agent to screen transgenic plants.

Since the MG-based selection system is a non-antibiotic-based method with high transformation efficiency but without any potential undesirable effects, it can be considered as a preferable marker system. We have developed a vector that has a multiple cloning site wherein any gene of interest can be inserted and functionally validated. The putative transformants can be selected using MG as the selection agent. Its applications extend across various sectors of agriculture, offering benefits to stakeholders involved in crop improvement, production, and consumption.

Sahoo, K. K., Gupta, B. K., Kaur, C., Joshi, R., Pareek, A., Sopory, S. K., & Singla-Pareek, S. L. (2021). Methylglyoxal-glyoxalase system as a possible selection module for raising marker-safe plants in rice. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 27, 2579-2588