Setaria viridis floral-dip: A simple and rapid Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method

Setaria viridis was recently described as a new monocotyledonous model species for C4 photosynthesis research and genetic transformation. It has biological attributes (rapid life cycle, small genome, diploid, short stature and simple growth requirements) that make it suitable for use as a model plant. We report an alternative method of S. viridis transformation using floral dip to circumvent the necessity of tissue culture phase for transgenic plant regeneration. S. viridis spikes at boot stage were selected to be immersed in Agrobacterium suspension. T1 seeds could be identified in 1.5-2 months after floral dipping. We demonstrated through molecular analysis and RFP expression that seeds and resulting plants from dipped inflorescences were transformed. Our results suggest the feasibility of S. viridis floral dip transformation as a time-saving and cost-effective compared with traditional methods. To our knowledge, this is the first report using floral dip in S. viridis as an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method.