Abstract
We have succeeded in disrupting the rice Waxy gene by introducing the hygromycin resistance gene into its intron 1 through homologous recombination. The vector used for the gene targeting carried 6.3- and 6.8-kb Waxy segments for somatic homologous recombination. To examine whether the length of homology affects recombination processes, we are trying to generate the Waxy gene having its entire coding region deleted by employing a vector containing 6.3-kb Waxy promoter and 3.5-kb segment having removed the Waxy coding region. Out of five candidate transgenic T0 plants producing the expected junction fragment for homologous recombination, detected by PCR screening, only two plants showed expected segregation patterns of the Waxy phenotype in both pollens and seeds with iodine staining. We will present molecular analyses of obtained T0 plants and discuss possible implications of gene targeting in rice.
