Improving Sucrose Synthesis in Indonesian Sugarcane

Increasing the capacity of sugarcane to produce sucrose was the aim of a research group from the University of Jember and Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Produced by photosynthesis, sucrose is the main substrate for respiration and biosynthesis. In normal conditions, sucrose is the main respiratory and growth substrate of higher plants. It is synthesized from glucose and fructose by an enzyme sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS).

The researchers genetically engineered a sugarcane variety cvR579 to contain the cDNA of sugarcane sucrose phosphate synthase (SoSPS1) gene in its spindle leaves. PCR analysis revealed the presence of the transgene in five lines with an accompanying 1.4-2.9 fold increase in SPS activity and 1.76 - 2.2 fold increases in leaves sucrose content.  In addition, the increased SPS activity was coupled with increased invertase activity and ratio between sucrose and starch content.

Production of sugarcane with increased sugar content in the spindle leaves would be a very important contribution in the development of food crops with usable biological mass for biofuel production.

For details, see the full article at: http://journal.discoveryindonesia.com/index.php/hayati/article/viewFile/82/89 or contact Dewi Suryani of Indonesia Biotech Information Center at dewisuryani@biotrop.org.