Next-generation protein-rich potato expressing the seed protein gene AmA1 is a result of proteome rebalancing in transgenic tuber

Abstract

Protein deficiency is the most crucial factor that affects physical growth and development and that increases morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. Efforts have been made to improve protein quality and quantity in crop plants but with limited success. Here, we report the development of transgenic potatoes with enhanced nutritive value by tuber-specific expression of a seed protein, AmA1 (Amaranth Albumin 1), in seven genotypic backgrounds suitable for cultivation in different agro-climatic regions. Analyses of the transgenic tubers revealed up to 60% increase in total protein content. In addition, the concentrations of several essential amino acids were increased significantly in transgenic tubers, which are otherwise limited in potato. Moreover, the transgenics also exhibited enhanced photosynthetic activity with a concomitant increase in total biomass. These results are striking because this genetic manipulation also resulted in a moderate increase in tuber yield. The comparative protein profiling suggests that the proteome rebalancing might cause increased protein content in transgenic tubers. Furthermore, the data on field performance and safety evaluation indicate that the transgenic potatoes are suitable for commercial cultivation. In vitro and in vivo studies on experimental animals demonstrate that the transgenic tubers are also safe for human consumption. Altogether, these results emphasize that the expression of AmA1 is a potential strategy for the nutritional improvement of food crops.allergenecity | essential amino acids | nutritional health

Vegetable Improvement in India; Recent Past, Present and Future: A Review

“…Arka Manik resistance to watermelon bud necrosis virus; all the tested transgenic lines were completely resistance to the disease, IIHR Annual Report, 2012 also available at www.iihr.res.in/content/annualreports. ProTato which is a transgenic potato line has 48% of increased overall protein content than non-transformed potatoes due to the expression of AMA1 gene (Chakraborty et al, 2010). …”

Polyploidy and Plant Breeding

“…This failure shows that consumer acceptance is key for adopting transgenic potatoes. There are promising transgenic tetraploid potatoes showing, among others, broad-spectrum resistance to late blight (Song 2003;Kuhl et al 2007;Halterman et al 2008), host plant resistance to potato tuber moth (Douches et al 2004) and Potato virus Y (Bravo-Almonacid et al 2012) or high carotenoid (Ducreux et al 2005) and protein (Chakraborty et al 2010). A cisgenic approach was also used to introduce into potato cultigens broad-spectrum late blight resistance genes Rpi-sto1 and Rpi-vnt1.1 from the crossable species S. stoloniferum and S. venturii (Jo et al 2014).…”

Next Generation Plant Biotechnology

“…• Rice that produces β-carotene (provitamin A) in the endosperm (Golden Rice) (Ye et al 2000;Beyer 2010), and has increased amounts of folate, and mineral (iron and zinc) in the seed (Beyer 2010;Lee et al 2009Lee et al , 2012Yang et al 2013); • Wheat grain with enhanced levels of iron and zinc (Borg et al 2012;Sui et al 2012;Borrill et al 2014); • Potatoes that are protein-rich (Chakraborthy et al 2010), have better aroma and less browning (Llorente et al 2010), and exhibit reduced cold-induced sweetening and increased carotenoid content (Giuliano et al 2006;Chen et al 2008;Bhaskar et al 2010;Barrell et al 2013); • Tomatoes with increased lycopene and β-carotene (Guo et al 2012;Liu et al 2014);…”