© Copyright khedmeh Wall
Tobacco
plants have been genetically modified to create an alluring fragrance
containing insect sex pheromones, which could be used to confuse would-be love-seeking
pests and reduce the need for harmful pesticides.
By
using precise genetic
engineering techniques, researchers at Norwich Earlham
Institute have been able to turn tobacco plants into solar-powered factories
that produce moth sex pheromones.
Crucially,
they have shown how to efficiently manage the production of these molecules so
that normal plant growth is not hindered.
Pheromones
are complex chemicals produced and released by living organisms as a means of
communication. They allow members of the same species to send signals, which
include letting others know they're looking for love.
Farmers
can hang pheromone dispersants in crops that mimic the signals of female
insects to trap or distract male insects in their search for a mate. Some of
these molecules can be produced through chemical processes, but chemical
synthesis is often expensive and produces toxic byproducts.
Dr
Nicola Patron, who led the new research and head of the Earlham Institute's
Synthetic Biology Group, uses cutting-edge science to get plants to produce
these valuable natural products.
Synthetic
biology applies engineering principles to the building blocks of life - DNA. By
creating genetic modules with instructions for building new molecules, Dr.
Patron and her team can turn plants such as tobacco into factories that require
nothing more than sunlight and water.
"Synthetic
biology could allow us to engineer plants to make more of what they already
produce, or we could give them the genetic instructions to make new
biomolecules, such as drugs or pheromones," Dr Patron said.
In
this latest work, the team, in collaboration with scientists at the Institute
of Plant Molecular and Cell Biology in Valencia, engineered a species of
tobacco, Nicotiana benthamiana, to produce moth sex pheromones. The factory has
previously been adapted to produce Ebola antibodies and even coronavirus-like
particles for the Covid-19 vaccine.
The
team built new DNA sequences in the lab to mimic the moth genes and introduced
molecular switches to precisely regulate their expression, which effectively
turned the manufacturing process on and off.
An
important component of the new research was being able to fine-tune pheromone
production, as forcing plants to constantly make these molecules has its
downsides.
"When
we increase efficiency, too much energy is diverted from normal growth and
development," Dr Patron explained.
"These
plants produce a lot of pheromones, but they can't grow very large, which
radically reduces the productivity of our production lines. Our new research
provides a way to more subtly regulate gene expression."
In
the lab, the team set out to test and refine the control of the genes responsible
for producing a cocktail of molecules that mimic the sex pheromones of moths,
including navel orange worms and cotton bollworms.
They
found that copper sulfate could be used to fine-tune the activity of genes,
allowing them to control the timing and level of gene expression. This is
especially important because copper sulfate is an inexpensive and readily
available compound that is approved for use in agriculture.
They
were even able to carefully control the production of different pheromone components,
allowing them to tweak the cocktail to better suit specific moth species.
"We've
shown that we can control the level of expression of each gene relative to the
others," Dr. Patron said. "This allows us to control the ratio of the
product.
"The
correct formulation is especially important for moth pheromones, as they are
usually a mixture of two or three molecules in specific ratios. Our
collaborators in Spain are now extracting the plant-made pheromones and testing
them in dispensers them, see how they compare to the female moths."
The
team hopes their work will pave the way for the routine use of plants to
produce a variety of valuable natural products.
"A
major advantage of using plants is that it is much more expensive to
manufacture complex molecules using chemical processes," said Dr Patron. “Plants
already produce a range of useful molecules, so we were able to use the latest
technology to adapt and improve existing machinery.”
"In
the future, we may see greenhouses filled with plant factories—offering a
greener, cheaper and more sustainable way to make complex molecules."
Collected
by Lifeasible a biotechnology company that addresses the genetic modification
of plants through multiple popular genetic engineering technologies, including CRISPR/CAS9,
CRISPR base editors, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs),
zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), RNA interference (RNAi), virus-induced gene
silencing (VIGS), and gene
overexpression.
Lifeasible,
with decades of experience in plant genetic engineering, addresses the genetic
modification of plantsthrough multiple popular genetic
engineering technologies. Now the company offers plant gene overexpression
service to accommodate research needs.
Gene
overexpression refers to cloning a target gene into a vector carrying elements such
as a strong promoter and a resistance selection marker, and then introducing it
into the plant, so that the host cell will obtain a higher amount of target
mRNA transcription level and protein expression level, so that the function of
the gene can be studied through analysis such as phenotype. It is suitable for
situations where gene function is redundant or lethal after gene knockout.
Gene
overexpression has been used as an alternative or additional approach to
loss-of-function approaches as well as to confer new functions on plants in
order to elucidate plant gene function.
Lifeasible,
with cutting-edge facilities and abundant experience, is proud to offer
flexible and dependable one-stop gene
overexpression servicesto help accelerate different
research needs, including:
Vector construction with different promoters
For
various needs, a variety of promoters are available at Lifeasible, including
those for constitutive (such as p35s, pUbi, pActin1, and pNos), tissue-specific
(such as pRBCS for leaves), inducible (such as pCAB for light, pRD29A for
stress, and pER for estradiol) expression, and tissue-specific (such as pAP3
for flowers, pGSSP for green tissue).
Vector construction with diverse fusion protein
Function
investigation of target genes, such as subcellular localization, protein
interaction, or directly regulated gene detection, can be carried out using
constructs with fused protein GFP, His, GST, MYC, or GR.
Vector assembly
Lifeasiblealso
creates technologies for vector assembly with multiple open read fragments
(ORFs) for the overexpression of numerous genes.
Plant transformation
The
majority of transformation systems, including those in monocot species and
dicot model plants like rice, wheat, barley, soybean, and Arabidopsis, are
covered at Lifeasible.
Trait measurement and gene function analysis of
transgenic plants
Lifeasible
has established a one-stop service platform for plants, please visit https://www.lifeasible.com/custom-solutions/plant/genetically-modified-plants/gene-overexpression-in-plants/to
know more.
Lifeasible,
with decades of experience in plant genetic engineering, addresses the genetic
modification of plantsthrough multiple popular genetic
engineering technologies. Now the company offers plant gene overexpression
service to accommodate research needs.
Gene
overexpression refers to cloning a target gene into a vector carrying elements such
as a strong promoter and a resistance selection marker, and then introducing it
into the plant, so that the host cell will obtain a higher amount of target
mRNA transcription level and protein expression level, so that the function of
the gene can be studied through analysis such as phenotype. It is suitable for
situations where gene function is redundant or lethal after gene knockout.
Gene
overexpression has been used as an alternative or additional approach to
loss-of-function approaches as well as to confer new functions on plants in
order to elucidate plant gene function.
Lifeasible,
with cutting-edge facilities and abundant experience, is proud to offer
flexible and dependable one-stop gene
overexpression servicesto help accelerate different
research needs, including:
Vector construction with different promoters
For
various needs, a variety of promoters are available at Lifeasible, including
those for constitutive (such as p35s, pUbi, pActin1, and pNos), tissue-specific
(such as pRBCS for leaves), inducible (such as pCAB for light, pRD29A for
stress, and pER for estradiol) expression, and tissue-specific (such as pAP3
for flowers, pGSSP for green tissue).
Vector construction with diverse fusion protein
Function
investigation of target genes, such as subcellular localization, protein
interaction, or directly regulated gene detection, can be carried out using
constructs with fused protein GFP, His, GST, MYC, or GR.
Vector assembly
Lifeasiblealso
creates technologies for vector assembly with multiple open read fragments
(ORFs) for the overexpression of numerous genes.
Plant transformation
The
majority of transformation systems, including those in monocot species and
dicot model plants like rice, wheat, barley, soybean, and Arabidopsis, are
covered at Lifeasible.
Trait measurement and gene function analysis of
transgenic plants
Lifeasible
has established a one-stop service platform for plants, please visit https://www.lifeasible.com/custom-solutions/plant/genetically-modified-plants/gene-overexpression-in-plants/to
know more.