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October 17, 2008
Source:
CropBiotech Update
A group of
researchers from the Kansas State University, Texas A&M
University and Baylor College of Medicine in the U.S.
successfully developed transgenic lettuce lines accumulating
significantly higher levels of calcium. The GM lettuce
plants harbor a modified calcium/proton antiporter (known as the
short cation exchanger 1 or sCAX1) placed under the control of a
cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter. sCAX1 increases
calcium transport into the vacuole, the "storage tank" of plant
cells.
The
transgenic lettuce lines were found to contain 25 to 32 percent
more calcium than their non-transgenic counterparts. They also
exhibited fertility and robust growth in greenhouse conditions.
Using a panel of highly trained descriptive panelists, the
biofortified lettuce plants were evaluated and no significant
differences were detected in flavor, bitterness or crispness
when compared with controls.
Download
the paper published by the
Plant Biotechnology Journal at
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2008.00379.x
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