Biotech Updates

Overexpression of Arabidopsis Gene Enhances Vitamin B6 Content in Potato

May 9, 2018

Vitamin B6 is a vitamin required for organisms as a substrate in metabolic reactions. While it is available from the plant dietary resources, the availability of the vitamin in the edible portions of the consumed plants is insufficient to meet the daily recommended doses. Genetic engineering techniques have proven successful in increasing the vitamin B6 content in the model plants.

In their study, a research team led by Deepak Singh Bagri from the Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University in India aimed to develop a transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum) overexpressing the PDXII gene, a key vitamin B6 pathway gene from Arabidopsis thaliana. The resulting transgenic potato tubers exhibited a significant improvement in vitamin B6 content, reaching as high as a 150% increase, compared to the control potatoes.

The significant increase in vitamin B6 content of the transgenic potato was also found to be associated with resistance to abiotic stresses, including salt stress.

For more information, read the article in Plant Science.