What must I provide?
For the crops listed, you must provide us the gene of interest in a binary vector.
How many plants do you provide for each gene construct?
We provide a minimum of 10 independent events (plants) per construct. In the case of Arabidopsis, we provide the T1 seed of at least five selected transgenic events on Kanamycin or Basta. To ship in vitro rooted plants to clients outside of the state of California it is necessary to submit an interstate notification with USDA/APHIS. We can help with this and the process is straight forward.
What will I be charged, if the transformation is unsuccessful?
Inserting genes into crops is technically demanding and extremely expensive. Therefore, the customer is required to pay 20% of the recharge fee listed above.
How many weeks does it take to get the transgenic plants?
Nicotiana tabaccum 3–4 months, N. benthaniana 4–6 months, Rice 6–8 months, Citrus 10–12 months, Alfalfa 8–12 months, Potato 5–6 months, Tomato 6-8 months, and Arabidopsis 3–4 months.
What method do you use to characterize the transgenic plants?
Regenerated antibiotic resistance plants (T0) are screened by genomic PCR, using primers to amplify the selective marker. The client can also provide us the appropriate primers against of the gene of interest.
How will I be charged?
To place an order, we need the FAU or account number to charge 50% in advance. The remainder will be charged when the transformation is completed.
What is the cost for molecular characterization?
We charge per hour. However, sometimes we estimate the total hours depending on the type of analysis and the number of plants to assay. For instance, for DNA or RNA blotting we have estimated a total 15 hours/10 plants/construct/blot plus the supplies.
What is the cost for protocol development?
We charge per hour for any methodology that is not available or is currently inefficient.
What other services are provided?
The Plant Transformation Research Center also offers training, workshops and tours for academic institutions and individuals interested in plant transformation, molecular biology and in vitro tissue culture technologies.