NOVOSIBIRSK, January 31 Scientists at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICiG SB RAS) managed to obtain lines of tobacco, the nicotine content in which decreased several times, reports scientific Institute on Wednesday.
Scientists explain: groups of researchers around the world are working on the task of producing tobacco plants with a reduced nicotine content, but three families of genes are responsible for the synthesis of the nicotine molecule, which significantly complicates any research related to their editing.
«This work was carried out using so-called multiplex genome editing, which involves the simultaneous modification of several genes. Work on the project took scientists from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS for several years,” the message says.
Using the bioballistics method (when DNA molecules deposited on gold microparticles are delivered to cell nuclei using a gene gun), researchers from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS obtained genetically stable lines of tobacco plants, in each of which several related ones were switched off genes of one of the key gene families that control the secondary metabolism of the plant.
«»At the same time as our work, other groups in the world were setting themselves similar tasks. However, it turned out that turning off specific tobacco genes associated with nicotine production leads to negative effects on plant growth, and often to sterility. Tobacco synthesis genes are associated with key processes of the plant's vital activity. We have ensured that the modified plants turn into non-transgenic lines with an inherited reduced nicotine content,» said Sofya Gerasimova, senior researcher at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS.
She explained that turning off individual genes led to different results, as a result of which patents were obtained for the two most promising ways to reduce the nicotine content in tobacco. The first method was to turn off the genes of the PMT family; in such plants, the nicotine content was reduced by at least half, and the plants themselves were even slightly larger than the original ones. The second method involved turning off the genes of the QPT family; this reduced the nicotine content by five or more times, but the plants themselves were several times smaller than the control specimens and practically could not reproduce.
«This is a very interesting result from a scientific point of view, previously not described by anyone. We are now continuing research on this line in order to better understand how the gene involved in the production of nicotine is associated with plant growth,» emphasized a researcher at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics. RAS Nina Kostina. She noted that the patented lines (especially the first) also have obvious prospects for applied use — as a basis for creating varieties of tobacco with a reduced nicotine content. In particular, this will be useful for smokers. Also, such tobacco, due to its ease of reproduction and other properties, can serve as a bioreactor for the accumulation of various useful substances or as a food source for breeding insects, for example, for laboratory research.
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