Injection Produces a Tougher Petunia

A plant scientist has produced drought-tolerant petunias by injecting genes from wild, dry-weather varieties, the U.S. Agriculture Department reported last week.

The technique widens the opportunities to develop new crops that can withstand extreme weather and other environmental stresses. It was developed by plant geneticist Robert Griesbach of the department’s Agricultural Research Service.

He used a microscopic injection technique to put the block of wild petunia genes into single cells of Pink Magic, a commercial petunia variety. As many as 30 to 50 genes make up a petunia chromosome in a cell.

“This is the first report of altering a plant’s genes by injecting an isolated chromosome, and the first time such genetically altered cells have been grown into whole plants,” said Jerome Miksche, an Agriculture Department physiologist. The feat was reported in a new issue of the international journal Plant Science.