Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-8-5
pubmed:abstractText
Rice (Oryza sativa L.), the major food staple for more than two billion people, contains neither beta-carotene (provitamin A) nor C40 carotenoid precursors thereof in its endosperm. To improve the nutritional value of rice, genetic engineering was chosen as a means to introduce the ability to make beta-carotene into rice endosperm tissue. Investigation of the biochemical properties of immature rice endosperm using [14C]-labelled substrates revealed the presence of geranyl geranyl diphosphate, the C20 general isoprenoid precursor necessary for C40 carotenoid biosynthesis. Phytoene synthase, which condenses two molecules of geranyl geranyl diphosphate, is the first of four specific enzymes necessary for beta-carotene biosynthesis in plants. Therefore, the Japonica rice model variety Taipei 309 was transformed by microprojectile bombardment with a cDNA coding for phytoene synthase from daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) under the control of either a constitutive or an endosperm-specific promoter. In transgenic rice plants, the daffodil enzyme is active, as measured by the in vivo accumulation of phytoene in rice endosperm. Thus, it is demonstrated for the first time that it is in principle possible to engineer a critical step in provitamin A biosynthesis in a non-photosynthetic, carotenoid-lacking plant tissue. These results have important implications for long-term prospects of overcoming worldwide vitamin A deficiency.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0960-7412
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
11
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1071-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
Transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) endosperm expressing daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) phytoene synthase accumulates phytoene, a key intermediate of provitamin A biosynthesis.
pubmed:affiliation
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Institute for Plant Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland. peter.burkhardt@ipw.biol.ethz.ch
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't