AgarTrap-mediated genetic transformation using intact gemmae/gemmalings of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L.

The dioecious liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha L., is an emerging model plant. Various molecular biological techniques have been optimized for M. polymorpha for the past several years, and recently we reported a simplified Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method using sporelings (immature thalli from spores) of M. polymorpha. This method, termed AgarTrap (Agar-utilized Transformation with Pouring Solutions), completed by exchanging appropriate solutions on a single Petri dish to produce a sufficient number of independent transgenic sporelings. However, because spores are produced by crosses between males and females, the genetic backgrounds of resulting transgenic sporelings are not uniform. To easily produce transgenic liverworts with a uniform genetic background using AgarTrap, we developed an AgarTrap-mediated transformation method using intact gemmae/gemmalings produced by asexual reproduction. Using AgarTrap with male and female gemmae/gemmalings produced a sufficient number of independent transgenic gemmalings with uniform genetic backgrounds. The optimized transformation efficiencies were approximately 30 and 50 % in males and females, respectively. As with AgarTrap using sporelings, AgarTrap using intact gemmae/gemmalings will be useful in promoting studies of the molecular biology of M. polymorpha.