China Biotechnology. 2006, 26(05): 93-100.
During the latest fifteen years a great progress has been achieved on transgenic research of the main crops including soybean, maize, rice, and wheat. Almost all the transformation techniques have been successfully used in these main crops. Especially for the Agrobacterium mediated transformation, not only successes it in soybean, a recalcitrant dicot plant to transformation, but also in rice, maize and wheat of monocot plants. At the same time, some useful genes related to the improvement of genetic characteristics, such as insect resistance, herbicide resistance, disease resistance, stress tolerance, quality modification, developmental regulation, nutrition absorption, have been transformed into these plants. Since 1996 transgenic rapeseed, cotton, soybean, and maize have been planted commercialized more and more year by year worldwide, and have produced huge economic benefit. In 2004 GMO crops covered 81.0 million hectares in the world. The status of research and commercialization on transgenic crops was summarized, and some possible problems on this field were discussed in this paper.
