The detection of the presence and expression of transgenes in genetically modified plants is a key step in the process of selecting promising lines. We adapted two methods developed for detecting tolerance to the herbicide imazapyr for selection of transgenic lines expressing the mutated acetohydroxyacid synthase enzyme (AHAS) from Arabidopsis thaliana (Atahas gene). This was achieved using transgenic events from cotton, cowpea, soybean and common bean, which have previously been transformed to express the mutated Atahas gene. In the first method, a colorimetric assay was developed that detects acetoin, an intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of branched chain amino acids, which is accumulated in the presence of cyclopropanedicarboxylic acid (CPCA), an inhibitor of ketoacid reductoisomerase (KARI). In the presence of the herbicide, it was possible to distinguish non-transgenic from transgenic plants. Qualitative analysis of acetoin formed during the AHAS inhibition allowed to indirectly determine the Atahas transgene expression. The second method measured the kinetics of chlorophyll fluorescence emission. Leaf discs pre-treated with imazapyr for 24 hours were evaluated using the modulated fluorimeter for maximum quantum efficiency of Photosystem II (PSII) (Fv/Fm) and relative electron transport rate (ETR). Results showed that almost all species analyzed presented a marked decrease in Fv/Fm after treatment with imazapyr. In addition, the ETR was significantly reduced in transgenic plants treated with the herbicide. Collectively, our results showed that it is possible to identify transgenic plants expressing Atahas gene and infer their levels of tolerance to imazapyr at a very early stage after transformation.

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AT-hook proteins of plant have shown to be involved in growth and development through the modification of chromatin architecture to co-regulate transcription of genes. Recently, many genes encoding AT-hook protein have been identified and their involvement in senescence delay is investigated. In this study, soybean transgenic plants overexpressing chromatin architecture-controlling ATPG7 gene was produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and investigated for the positive effect on the important agronomic traits mainly focusing on yield-related components. A total of 27 transgenic soybean plants were produced from about 400 explants. T₁ seeds were harvested from all transgenic plants. In the analysis of genomic DNAs from soybean transformants, ATPG7 and Bar fragments were amplified as expected, 975 bp and 408 bp in size, respectively. And also exact gene expression was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) from transgenic line #6, #7 and #8. In a field evaluation of yield components of ATPG7 transgenic plants (T₃), higher plant height, more of pod number and greater average total seed weight were observed with statistical significance. The results of this study indicate that the introduction of ATPG7 gene in soybean may have the positive effect on yield components.

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C3HC4-type RING zinc finger proteins are known to be essential in the regulation of plant processes, including responses to abiotic stress. In order to explore the potential of the BrRZFP1 gene to enhance tolerance toward multiple stresses in different host plant genomes, we generated transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Goldenbell) plants. The tomato plants overexpressing BrRZFP1 acquired a higher tolerance to drought stress. However, the transgenic plants did not appear to be more cold tolerant than the WT, in any tested condition. The data obtained indicate that the specificity and the degree of BrRZFP1 activity depend on the host genomic background. In physiological assessment of salt stress tolerance, transgenic plants showed more dry matter accumulation and maintained significantly higher levels of leaf chlorophyll content along with increasing levels of salt stress than the wild type plants. This study shows that BrRZFP1 is a candidate gene in the engineering of crops for enhanced drought and salt stress tolerance.

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