Site-specific Recombinases For Use In Hybrid

The objective of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of the FLP/FRT site-specific recombinase inexcising a transgenic tapetum-specific promoter driving an inverted (antisense) Arabidopsis fertilitygene, bcl1. Plants containing the antisense of bcl1 (flanked by FRT sites) will be male sterile and whencrossed to plants containing the FLP site-specific recombinase, FLP should excise the sterility gene thusrestoring fertility and producing a hybrid. In addition, the relative effectiveness of different structuralalterations in the FRT sites will be assessed with respect to the efficiency of transgene excisions. If thisFLP/FRT system functions at sufficient efficiencies, it will confirm the feasibility that it can be used asa new method for making hybrid plants.During Phase II of this SBIR, it will be our intention to use the same system, if it proves to be feasibleduring Phase I research, for the development of corn hybrids.