GM Potato with Tolerance to Multiple Stresses

Various environmental stresses, like extreme heat or cold, salinity and chemical toxicity can induce formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells. ROS can cause damages in membranes of cell organelles and disrupt normal cell processes. Plants combat ROS by synthesizing antioxidant enzymes. A group of Korean scientists successfully obtained transgenic potato lines exhibiting tolerance to multiple oxidative stresses by modifying the expression of the antioxidant genes.

The group introduced the gene coding for nucleoside diphosphate kinase 2 (NDPK2) from Arabidopsis. NDPK2 is responsible for regulating the expression of several antioxidant genes in the cytoplasm. The gene for NDPK2 was placed in the control of a promoter (DNA sequence that regulates expression of genes adjacent to it) that is easily activated by stress. The generated transgenic lines exhibited tolerance to oxidative stress brought about by high temperature, salinity and chemical toxicity. Scientists are now studying the possibility of introducing the NDPK2 gene in the chloroplast, which is the site of photosynthesis and most susceptible to damages by ROS.

The paper published by the journal Transgenic Research is available to subscribers at http://www.springerlink.com/content/w30567gr1314u276/fulltext.pdf. The abstract is available at http://www.springerlink.com/content/w30567gr1314u276/?p=fdb545bac14c46b69d03fb6a67ae0667&pi=0