Plant transformation via pollen tube-mediated gene transfer

Genetic transformation using foreign genes and the subsequent development of transgenic plants has been employed to develop enhanced elite germplasm. Although some skepticism exits regarding pollen tube-mediated gene transfer (PTT), reports demonstrating improved transformation efficiency with PTT systems are increasing and encouraging and the adoption of increasingly refined pollenmediated methodologies may lead to species-dependent improvements in breeding. Here, we highlight PTT technology as an alternative to genetic transformation.