Production of Feed Additive in GM Potato

The production of the feed additive xylanase using potato was demonstrated possible by a group of researchers in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Xylanase is an important enzyme incorporated in animal feeds to help poultry and monogastric animals, such as pigs and horses, break down xylan - a protein that hampers the rate of digestion and the absorption of nutrients in those animals.

Xylanase is currently commercially produced using microbial fermentation. However, the researchers led by Peilong Yang have proposed that producing the compound in potato can be an economical alternative. In addition, the biotech potato can be directly fed to poultry or other animals.

To produce the transgenic potato, the gene xynB from a Streptomyces bacterium was incorporated to the potato cultivar ‘Desiree’. The researchers determined that xylanase was present at up to 5% of total soluble leaf protein in the potato cytoplasm. In addition, it was observed that the specific activity of the xylanase enzyme was sufficiently high in both leaf and tuber extracts from the transgenic potato making it suitable for industrial or commercial purposes.

The research paper in the journal Biotechnology Letters can be accessed at http://www.springerlink.com/content/0u63112813r15285/.