| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While the genetic transformation of the major cereal crops has become relatively routine, to date only a few reports were published on transgenic triticale, and robust data on T-DNA integration and segregation have not been available in this species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of stable transgenic winter triticale cv. Bogo carrying the selectable marker gene <it>HYGROMYCIN PHOSPHOTRANSFERASE</it> (<it>HPT</it>) and a synthetic <it>green fluorescent protein</it> gene (<it>gfp)</it>. Progeny of four independent transgenic plants were comprehensively investigated with regard to the number of integrated T-DNA copies, the number of plant genomic integration loci, the integrity and functionality of individual T-DNA copies, as well as the segregation of transgenes in T<sub>1</sub> and T<sub>2</sub> generations, which also enabled us to identify homozygous transgenic lines. The truncation of some integrated T-DNAs at their left end along with the occurrence of independent segregation of multiple T-DNAs unintendedly resulted in a single-copy segregant that is selectable marker-free and homozygous for the <it>gfp</it> gene. The heritable expression of <it>gfp</it> driven by the maize <it>UBI-1</it> promoter was demonstrated by confocal laser scanning microscopy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The used transformation method is a valuable tool for the genetic engineering of triticale. Here we show that comprehensive molecular analyses are required for the correct interpretation of phenotypic data collected from the transgenic plants.</p>
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