EcoTUb : an ecologically safe selection system for transgenic crops based on modified plant-tubulin genes

There is a substantial public concern about a potential spread of antibitiotic resistance genes in the soil and intestinal bacteria as a conseqeunce of the use of genetically modified organisms and in particular of the agricultural use of transgenic crops. A selection system for plant transformation that is exclusively based on genetic information already present in the host plant and that does not require antibiotic resistance genes would avoid any such risk. This project aims to develop such ecologically safe system for cereals. The project is based upon truncated tubulins lacking the binding site for carbamates