The recombinant plasmid can either be put back into Agrobacterium tumefaciens , which is used to infect plant cells in culture, or it can be introduced directly into plant cells. Individual modified plant cells are then used to regenerate whole plants that contain, express and pass on to their progeny the foreign gene. Newer methods that allow researchers to overcome this limitation are electroporation and use of the DNA particle gun . Some Early Successes of Genetic Engineering in Plants Genetic engineering of plants has yielded positive results in cases where useful traits are determined by single genes. The first gene-spliced fruits approved by the FDA for human consumption were tomatoes engineered with antisense RNA to suppress ripening and retard spoilage.
Researchers clone the tomato gene coding for enzymes responsible for ripening.
The antisense gene is spliced into the tomato plant's DNA, where it 3.