Alyson Lang

The Process of Plant Transformation

Started Dec. 12, 2023

Abstract or project description

My project consists of the first four posts in a blog series discussing the science behind plant biotechnology as well as the societal impact this technology is making. It is published on my personal account in the blogging platform Medium. The goal of this blog is to gain a broad understanding of the field of plant biology while sharing my research with a general audience in the engaging and easily understandable form of a blog post series. This can improve scientific communication and also allows me to pursue the project even after the end of my Polygence session. Specifically, these first four blogs outline the process of creating transgenic plants by discussing gene isolation, molecular cloning, gene insertion, and tissue culture.

These four blogs are the result of scientific research, in addition to a short "About Me" post. The first post concerns the science behind plant regeneration, the process of regrowing a complete plant from a single cell. This is a key step in plant bioengineering. My main source will be a lecture from my mentor, with supplementary research done outside of that. The second post is about methods of gene insertion into a plant cell, which is another important step in the plant bioengineering process. I discuss current methods like protoplast culturing and the gene gun, but most importantly, the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. My third and fourth blogs both concern the subject of artificial gene synthesis, but as that is a complex topic, it is split between the two posts, which separately discuss part 1: acquiring oligonucleotides, and part 2: assembling sequences. Throughout these two blogs, I will PCR, the phosphoramidite method of oligonucleotide synthesis, molecular cloning techniques such as Gibson Assembly and GoldenGate Cloning, and tools like SnapGene and AddGene.

After the end of this Polygence project, I wish to continue the blog for as long as I can as an independent project. With the skills I learn, I will continue developing my knowledge and the blog by conducting independent research, interviews, and possibly experiments. An important reason for my choice to do this project in blog post format is because of the freedom and potential for creativity that comes with it. For me, Polygence is a launch pad for this project, which can bring vast amounts of knowledge to me and its readers along its quest to explore the question, "How is plant biotechnology impacting the world?"