Patent ID: 7671253

Claim:
A method of producing a genetically modified plant, comprising: (a) providing at least one plant cell capable of being transformed and being generated into a whole plant; (b) introducing into the at least one plant cell: (I) a repressible lethal gene encoding a gene product having an activity lethal to plant cells, wherein said repressible lethal gene is selected from the group consisting of: a gene encoding the protein encoded by oncogene 1 of Agrobacterium ; a gene encoding the protein encoded by oncogene 2 of Agrobacterium ; and a gene encoding the protein encoded by oncogene 4 of Agrobacterium ; and (ii) a sense repressor gene encoding a protein capable of repressing the activity of the gene product of the repressible lethal gene; wherein a DNA operator sequence is in operable association with the repressible lethal gene, the DNA operator sequence adapted for binding the gene product of the repressor gene to repress transcription of the gene product of the repressible lethal gene; (c) generating a plurality of whole plants from the at least one plant cell; and (d) selecting for a genetically modified plant descended from or derived from at least one of the plurality of whole plants by determining incorporation and mutually independent segregation of the repressor gene and the repressible lethal gene within the genetically modified plant.