Pj. Fisher et al., RETENTION AND SPREAD OF A GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED PSEUDOMONAD IN SEEDSAND PLANTS OF ZEA-MAYS L - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY, New phytologist, 124(1), 1993, pp. 101-106
The survival of a genetically engineered strain of Pseudomonas fluores
cens introduced to the seeds, stems and leaves of maize plants was mon
itored using viable cell counts on selective agars. The bacterium was
introduced to the seeds under vacuum and stored at either room tempera
ture or 5-degrees-C. The bacterium was detected after 1 d, but not aft
er 8 d, in seeds stored at room temperature, whereas at the lower temp
erature it was still detected after 43 d. Other inoculated seeds were
grown either in a nutrient solution or in potting compost. Studies of
survival within both seed remnants and roots, and on the aerial parts
of the plants, demonstrated that the majority of bacteria remained in
the seeds with some movement into the roots. Seeds retained a greater
colonization frequency than roots in plants grown in both soil and nut
rient solution. Those plants grown in nutrient solution maintained hig
her bacterial populations in seed remnants and roots than those grown
in soil. Viable counts of P. fluorescens within seed remnants and root
s decreased in soil-grown plants over a 43 d monitoring period. No int
roduced organisms were detected in either stem core sections or other
aerial parts of any of the inoculated plants, yet the cores were shown
to contain an indigenous population of up to 4.8 x 10(4) cells g-1 ti
ssue. When mature plants were injected with the bacterium viable count
s of the pseudomonad below and above the injection points demonstrated
the ability of the bacterium to translocate in the stem after the wou
nding process. P. fluorescens applied to the leaf surfaces remained vi
able for at least 20 d but showed great variations in numbers with val
ues ranging from 0 to 1.4 x 10(6) g-1 tissue. The practical applicatio
ns of introducing genetically engineered microorganisms into plants as
control measures against pathogens and insect pests are briefly discu
ssed.