GM Soybean with Delayed Postharvest Yellowing

The short shelf life of most green vegetables usually results from rapid chlorophyll degradation. Chlorophyllase (Chlase), a key enzyme in the degradation, catalyzes the hydrolysis of chlorophyll to yield the colorless intermediates chlorophyllide and phytol (alcohol used in the manufacture of synthetic vitamins E and K1). Chlase has recently been cloned and identified in Arabidopsis, wheat, Valencia orange and broccoli.

A group of scientists from Taiwan and India transformed the genes coding for Chlase to obtain transgenic broccoli lines with delayed postharvest yellowing. Chlase is coded by three genes in broccoli, with the BoCLH1 gene responsible for postharvest senescence. The transgenic plants showed different periods of yellowing delay. The results suggested that genes other than the BoCLH-Chlases obtained in the present study might also be essential in the yellowing process. Identification of such genes will be important in the development of green vegetables with longer shelf life.

The abstract of the paper published by the journal Plant Science, including links to the full article, is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2007.09.006