| abstract |
Several approaches to differentiate transformed plant cells from non-transformed plant cells, in the absence of a selectable marker, are aspects of the invention described herein. It was discovered that transformed plant cells experience detectable morphological changes (e.g., a reduced rate of growth or biomass) that can be readily identified and used to differentiate the transformed cell from the non-transformed cell in the absence of a selectable marker. Embodiments include approaches for differentiating, identifying, selecting, and regenerating plant cells that have been transformed with a gene of interest, with or without a selectable marker by comparing the growth rate or morphological feature of the transformed plant cells with the growth rate or a morphological feature of non-transformed plant cells that are cultured under similar conditions. |