Introduction to cisgenic and intragenic vectors and their application in cereal breeding (Review Article)

The area under cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops hasincreased dramatically within the last 20 years. In spite of the economic/agronomic benefits, and their undeniable effects on the environment and human health, social rejection towards GM food, has hindered implementation, exploitation, and commercialization of the molecular techniques. It is chiefly due to the introduction of prokaryotic genes as a selectable marker and transgene from sources that are not naturally crossable with target crop. Using a plant-derived DNA transformation vectors specially designed for each crop with genetic elements from its own genome should rise less environmental concern and may increase consumer’s acceptance. The promoter, terminator, T-DNA borders, etc. remain the prime genetic elements within T-DNA region that need to be replaced with plant-derived types. In addition, putative right border should be designed and selectable marker gene need to be avoided or removed following production of a transgenic plant.In the current paper, the concept of cisgenic and intragenic approaches for plant improvement and the essential technical points need to be considered when designing a plant-derived vector are briefly reviewed.