Gene Targeting in Plants via Site-Directed Mutagenesis

Genetically engineered crops continue to arouse public controversy. One issue that causes much concern is the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in transgenic plants. These genes provide a means to select plant cells which have acquired the linked foreign gene that encodes a useful trait; selection genes are an unavoidable consequence of conventional transformation technologies. Reported herein are strategies to create, and select for, modifications to plant genes in vivo without the introduction of foreign DNA.