Center for Plant Molecular Biology

Plant Transformation

Location

Morgenstelle 32
5. Stock, Raum 5X17

phone: 73223

Booking email: transformationspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de
General booking instructions, CLICK HERE
Come to our office for login information, thanks!
Please scroll to the publications below for referencing our protocols. Thank you!

Equipment

2 sterile benches, 3 growth rooms

Coordinator

Dr. Kenneth W Berendzen


Lead Technician

Dr. Najmeh Heusch
 

Transformation technicians and services

Transfection Services

We offer protoplasts derived from a Col-0 Arabidopsis cell-suspension culture bi-weekly for self-transfection on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday. The instructions for this can be found in the "Booking Trafos" link above, by writing us or just visit us in our office. Our protocols can be found by scrolling to the lower part of the page.

Transformation Services

We offer routine transgenic transformation protocols for primarily Solanaceae species Nicotiana benthamiana, Nicotiana tabacum, Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum tuberosum L. but have also successfully produced transgenics with Nelumbo nucifera (Lotus) and Brassica oleracea. The Service is first-come-first-serve, prioritized to the ZMBP, but inquiries are considered.
Up-to-date functional protocols can be found by scrolling to the lower part of the page.

1. The unit offers Agrobacterium-mediated tissue-culture transformation of potato, tobacco and tomato ssp.
2. PEG-mediated transformation of protoplasts from cell cultures or root cells (Arabidopsis).
3. Maintenance of our Col-0 cell culture (wild type).

 


Current Publications

2025

(publication) Compendium of Agrobacterium-Mediated Tissue Culture Transformation Methods of Various Solanaceae Species. Brancato C, Heusch N, Berendzen KW.  Methods and Protocols. 2025; 8(5):107. doi: 10.3390/mps8050107

2022

(publication) The tomato resistance gene Bs4 suppresses leaf watersoaking phenotypes induced by AvrHah1, a transcription activator-like effector from tomato-pathogenic xanthomonads. Schenstnyi K, Strauß A, Dressel A, Morbitzer R, Wunderlich M, Andrade AG, Phan TT, Aguilera PLA, Brancato C, Berendzen KW, Lahaye T. New Phytol. 2022 Sep 2. doi: 10.1111/nph.18456.

2019

(publication) ARR22 overexpression can suppress plant Two-Component Regulatory Systems. Wallmeroth N, Jeschke D, Slane D, Nägele J, Veerabagu M, Mira-Rodado V, Berendzen KW. PLoS One. 2019 Feb 11;14(2):e0212056. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212056. eCollection 2019.

2015

(publication) An RLP23-SOBIR1-BAK1 complex mediates NLP-triggered immunity. Albert I, Böhm H, Albert M, Feiler CE, Imkampe J, Wallmeroth N, Brancato C, Raaymakers TM, Oome S, Zhang H, Krol E, Grefen C, Gust A, Chai J, Hedrich R, Van den Ackerveken G, Nürnberger T (2015). Nature Plants, 15140, doi: 10.1038/NPLANTS.2015.140.

(publication)  Development of a tomato plant resistant to Clavibacter michiganensis using the endolysin gene of bacteriophage CMP1 as a transgene. J. Wittmann, C. Brancato, K. W. Berendzen and B. Dreiseikelmann (2015). Plant Pathology DOI: 10.1111/ppa.12417

 

REFERENCING 

Stable transformation of Potato, Tomato or Nicotiana

Brancato, C.; Heusch, N.; Berendzen, K.W. Compendium of Agrobacterium-Mediated Tissue Culture Transformation Methods of Various Solanaceae Species. Methods Protoc. 2025, 8, 107. doi.org/10.3390/mps8050107

 

Cell-culture Protoplast Transfection

Please cite for the standard protoplast transfection protocol after Feb. 2017:

Mehlhorn D.G., Wallmeroth N., Berendzen K.W., Grefen C. (2018) 2in1 Vectors Improve In Planta BiFC and FRET Analyses. In: Hawes C., Kriechbaumer V. (eds) The Plant Endoplasmic Reticulum. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1691. Humana Press, New York, NY.

Please cite for the 96-well transfection protocol:

Berendzen KW, Böhmer M, Wallmeroth N, Peter S, Vesić M, Zhou Y, Tiesler FK, Schleifenbaum F, Harter K. Screening for in planta protein-protein interactions combining bimolecular fluorescence complementation with flow cytometry. Plant Methods. 2012 Jul 12;8(1):25.

Transfections performed before Feb.2017 cite:

Schütze K, Harter K, Chaban C (2009) Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) to study protein-protein interactions in living plant cells. Methods Mol Biol 479: 189-202.

 

PROTOCOLS
STABLE TRANSFORMATIONS

Lab versions:
PotatoStabile.pdf
Protocol for stable transformation of potato

Transformation protocol for Nicotiana
Protocol for stable transformation of Nicotiana ssp.

Protocol for tomato stable transformation
Protocol for stable transformation of tomato

LotusAgroTrafo1.pdf
Protocol for Lotus stable transformation


Cell Culture 01.doc
Cell Culture Maintenance (Arabidopsis Col-0)


BY-2-protopl.doc
BY-2 Tobacco Cell Suspension Protoplasts
(NOTE: we no longer maintain BY-2 suspension cells or culture since 2020).

PEG transfection protocol.pdf
Arabidopsis Cell Culture Protoplasts