Rapid delivery of foreign genes into plants by direct rub-inoculation with intact plasmid DNA of a tomato bushy stunt virus gene vector.

Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) cDNA, positioned between a modified cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and the hepatitis delta virus antigenomic ribozyme with a downstream nopaline synthase gene polyadenylation signal, established infections upon rub-inoculation of plants with intact plasmids. Application of this methodology produced a TBSV DNA-based gene vector which yielded readily detectable levels of localized foreign gene expression in inoculated leaves. This is the first demonstration of an infectious DNA from a member of the Tombusviridae which permits rapid TBSV-mediated foreign-gene expression upon direct rub-inoculation of miniprep DNA onto a variety of plant species.