Folate fortification of rice by metabolic engineering

Nat Biotechnol. 2007 Nov;25(11):1277-9. doi: 10.1038/nbt1351. Epub 2007 Oct 14.

Abstract

Rice, the world's major staple crop, is a poor source of essential micronutrients, including folates (vitamin B9). We report folate biofortification of rice seeds achieved by overexpressing two Arabidopsis thaliana genes of the pterin and para-aminobenzoate branches of the folate biosynthetic pathway from a single locus. We obtained a maximal enhancement as high as 100 times above wild type, with 100 g of polished raw grains containing up to four times the adult daily folate requirement.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 4-Aminobenzoic Acid / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Folic Acid / biosynthesis*
  • Folic Acid / genetics*
  • Food, Fortified*
  • Genes, Plant
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Oryza / genetics*
  • Oryza / metabolism*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified*
  • Pterins / metabolism

Substances

  • Pterins
  • Folic Acid
  • 4-Aminobenzoic Acid