[Erh-Min Lai] Stable pH can enhance Arabidopsis transient transformation efficiency

Erh-Min Lai group previously developed a highly efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system, named AGROBEST, for Arabidopsis seedlings (1) (Wu et al., 2014). The group has further explored the rationales of the enhancement and has recently reported in Scientific Reports (2) (Wang, Yu et al., 2018). Maintaining a stable acidic environment suppresses the immune response of Arabidopsis seedlings. As a result, the seedlings become more susceptible to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and have better expression of foreign genes carried by the T-DNA.  The authors further illustrate that the stable acidic pH inhibits the calcium uptake induced by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) which could be the cause of suppression in immune response.  The authors hope that this study can help to improve transformation efficiency, especially for plant species recalcitrant to genetic engineering or with limited knowledge of genetic background.