Simon Deroles and a gene gun, and two microscope images of a petal that has been shot with a reporter gene to determine whether the experiment has worked (middle), and a regulatory gene which makes the cells red (right) (Images: Tony Corbett, Plant and Food Research)
Simon Deroles from Plant and Food Research designs and builds gene guns, and uses them to test for gene expression, particularly genes that control for pigments in flowers.
Using helium under vacuum to shoot gold nanoparticles with DNA into plants, biolistics was one of the tools used by Roger Hellens and his colleagues to test for the gene controlling flower colour in Mendel's peas (see story above).
To see the gun in action, Ruth Beran visits Simon Deroles in Palmerston North, and he shows her how Antirrhinum petals (Snap Dragon) are shot with a regulatory gene to turn on anthocyanin biosynthesis. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene is also used to determine how successful the shooting procedure has been.
