Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (7): 194-204.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2021-1040

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Genetic Transformation of Plant Cells Mediated by Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

LU Xin-hua(), SUN De-quan, ZHANG Xiu-mei()   

  1. South Subtropical Crops Research Institute,Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit’s Biology,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,Zhanjiang 524091
  • Received:2021-08-15 Online:2022-07-26 Published:2022-08-09
  • Contact: ZHANG Xiu-mei E-mail:sscrilu@163.com;asiazhang1975@catas.cn

Abstract:

With the rapid development of nanobiotechnology,nanoparticles have been applied as vectors for gene transformation in plant cells. In this study,mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSNs)with different particle sizes were synthesized and then amine-functionalized. The transformation efficiencies of amine-functionalized MSNs(Am-MSNs)for delivering plasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein(smGFP)were investigated in the protoplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana. As results,the Am-MSN-20 exhibited monodispersed spheroids with average particle size of 20 nm,while Am-MSN-50 showed a flower-like structure and had an average particle size of 50 nm. Both amine-functionalized MSNs were positively charged. Am-MSN-50 had higher binding capacity of pDNA than that of Am-MSN-20. The Am-MSNs/pDNA complex showed good stability,which suggested that both Am-MSNs protected bounded pDNA efficiently against degradation by cellular nucleases. The MSNs also exhibited no cytotoxic effects on the protoplasts of A. thaliana. The Am-MSN-50 enabled much higher transformation efficiency of the pDNA encoding smGFP compared to that of Am-MSN-20. The results suggest that Am-MSNs can be employed as promising carriers for safe and effective gene delivery.

Key words: mesoporous silica nanoparticles, amine-functionalized, gene transfer, carrier, plant cells