Methionine sulfoximine, an alternative selection for the bar marker in plants.

Methionine sulfoximine, like phosphinothricin (PPT), the active agent in the herbicide BASTA, is a glutamate analogue that inhibits growth of wildtype Arabidopsis plants through its action on glutamine synthetase. The bar gene, which confers resistance to PPT, also confers resistance to methionine sulfoximine. In this study we show that methionine sulfoximine is an effective and economical alternative to PPT as a selective agent in agar medium.