Journal
PLANT CELL REPORTS
Volume 41, Issue 8, Pages 1751-1761Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00299-022-02889-4
Keywords
Camelina sativa; Carotenoid; beta-Carotene; Astaxanthin; Marker gene
Categories
Funding
- Shenzhen Science and Technology RD Fund [20200813111818001]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study genetically engineered Camelina sativa to produce red ketocarotenoids as a reporter gene, allowing visualization of transgenic events without the use of traditional selection marker genes. The transgenic seed oils exhibited higher antioxidant activity.
Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz is an important oil crop with many excellent agronomic traits. This model oil plant has been exploited to accumulate value-added bioproducts using genetic manipulation that depends on antibiotic- or herbicide-based selection marker genes (SMG), one of the major concerns for genetically modified foods. Here we reported metabolic engineering of C. sativa to synthesize red ketocarotenoids that could serve as a reporter to visualize transgenic events without using a traditional SMG. Overexpression of a non-native beta-carotene ketolase gene coupled with three other carotenogenous genes (phytoene synthase, beta-carotene hydroxylase, and Orange) in C. sativa resulted in production of red seeds that were visibly distinguishable from the normal yellow ones. Constitutive expression of the transgenes led to delayed plant development and seed germination. In contrast, seed-specific transformants demonstrated normal growth and seed germination despite the accumulation of up to 70-fold the level of carotenoids in the seeds compared to the controls, including significant amounts of astaxanthin and keto-lutein. As a result, the transgenic seed oils exhibited much higher antioxidant activity. No significant changes were found in the profiles of fatty acids between transgenic and control seeds. This study provided an interesting tool for metabolic engineering of seed crops without using a disputed SMG.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available