Metabolic engineering of an alternative pathway for ascorbic acid biosynthesis in plants Academic Article

abstract

• Plants and most animals can synthesize their own L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C), but a mutation in the L-gulono--lactone oxidase gene in the primate lineage makes it necessary for humans to acquire this vital compound from their diet. Despite the fact that plants and animals synthesize ascorbic acid via different pathways, transgenic tobacco and lettuce plants expressing a rat cDNA encoding L-gulono--lactone oxidase accumulated up to seven times more ascorbic acid than untransformed plants. These results demonstrate that basal levels of ascorbic acid in plants can be significantly increased by expressing a single gene from the animal pathway.

authors

• Nessler, Craig

published proceedings

• MOLECULAR BREEDING

author list (cited authors)

• Jain, A. K., & Nessler, C. L.

citation count

• 150

complete list of authors

• Jain, AK||Nessler, CL

publication date

• February 2000

publisher

• Springer Nature  Publisher

published in

• Molecular Breeding  Journal

keywords

• Ascorbic Acid
• L-gulono-gamma-lactone Oxidase
• Lactuca Sativa
• Nicotiana Tabacum
• Plant Metabolic Engineering
• Vitamin C

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1023/A:1009680818138

start page

• 73

end page

• 78

volume

• 6

issue

• 1

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/a:1009680818138