The first step to create golden rice is to take the beta-carotene producing gene from a daffodil plant and then isolating that gene by using restriction enzymes. This gene can then be inserted into the plant using 3 different methods;
- Biolistic: where the gene is attached to tiny gold or tungsten particles and then bombarded on to the nucleus of the plants cell.
- Transfer
vector: where the gene is placed in a bacterium
which then in goes into the plant.
- Electroporation: which uses an electric charge to fuse the foreign gene with the genome of the plant cell. (CSIRO, Gene Technology)
The most common method that is used to create golden rice is the transfer vector. this is because is it not very energy intensive like the other two methods.
A soil bacterium called agrobacterium is used, this is compatible with the gene structure of the rice crop. The beta-carotene gene is not inserted into the genome of the soil bacterium but it is inserted into a part called the plasmid. The plasmid is the part of the cell that actually gets transferred into the DNA of the plant when the bacterium comes in contact with the plant cell. After the DNA transfer is complete the host plant with the altered DNA develops something called a crown gall. This is essentially a replication of the cells with the altered DNA. This happens because of a tumour-carrying gene inside the agrobacterium. This indicates that the gene transfer is complete.
A soil bacterium called agrobacterium is used, this is compatible with the gene structure of the rice crop. The beta-carotene gene is not inserted into the genome of the soil bacterium but it is inserted into a part called the plasmid. The plasmid is the part of the cell that actually gets transferred into the DNA of the plant when the bacterium comes in contact with the plant cell. After the DNA transfer is complete the host plant with the altered DNA develops something called a crown gall. This is essentially a replication of the cells with the altered DNA. This happens because of a tumour-carrying gene inside the agrobacterium. This indicates that the gene transfer is complete.