Engineering the provitamin A (beta-carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice endosperm

XD Ye, S Al-Babili, A Kloti, J Zhang, P Lucca, P Beyer*, Ingo Potrykus

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1877 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa), a major staple food, is usually milled to remove the oil-rich aleurone layer that turns rancid upon storage, especially in tropical areas. The remaining edible part of rice grains, the endosperm, Lacks several essential nutrients, such as provitamin A. Thus, predominant rice consumption promotes vitamin A deficiency, a serious public health problem in at least 26 countries, including highly populated areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Recombinant DNA technology was used to improve its nutritional value in this respect. A combination of transgenes enabled biosynthesis of provitamin A in the endosperm.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)303-305
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume287
Issue number5451
StatePublished - Jan 14 2000
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • VITAMIN-A-DEFICIENCY
  • NARCISSUS-PSEUDONARCISSUS
  • FUNCTIONAL EXPRESSION
  • PLANT TRANSFORMATION
  • PHYTOENE SYNTHASE
  • VECTORS

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