The Gene Gun

Gene guns are essentially used to inject genetic information into the tissues of plants to physically transform them. Transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell due to the incorporation or uptake of foreign genetic material(Standard). This then alters the genetic makeup of the plant.

The gene gun can be used on tissue culture cells or seeding of any species. The gene gun is a method that works by shooting DNA into the plant cells. Microscopic gold or tungsten particles are coated with hundreds of copies of the gene(s) to be introduced. (Deana)

With a gene gun, heavy microscopic particles (tungsten, gold, titanium) are coated with DNA or RNA. The particles are inserted into a plant tissue at a very high velocity the puncture the cell membrane. The particles penetrate the cells into the cytoplasm or the nucleus. The gene gun apparatus has a plate that allows only DNA-coated particles to accelerate towards the target tissue to facilitate accurate transformation. Transformation is any alteration in the genome of a cell after the uptake, incorporation, or expression of foreign genetic material (Standard).

Fig. 4

Gene gun animation http://passel.unl.edu/pages/animation.php?a=GeneGun.swf