Fast-TrACC: A Rapid Method for Delivering and Testing Gene Editing Reagents in Somatic Plant Cells

The production of transgenic or gene edited plants requires considerable time and effort. It is of value to know at the onset of a project whether the transgenes or gene editing reagents are functioning as predicted. To test molecular reagents transiently, we implemented an improved, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-based co-culture method called Fast-TrACC (Fast Treated Agrobacterium Co-Culture). Fast-TrACC delivers reagents to seedlings, allowing high throughput, and uses a luciferase reporter to monitor and calibrate the efficiency of reagent delivery. We demonstrate the use of Fast-TrACC in multiple solanaceous species and apply the method to test promoter activity and the effectiveness of gene editing reagents.