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Metabolic engineering of rice endosperm for betanin biosynthesis
Author(s) -
Tian YongSheng,
Fu XiaoYan,
Yang ZunQiu,
Wang Bo,
Gao JianJie,
Wang MingQing,
Xu Jing,
Han HongJuan,
Li ZhenJun,
Yao QuanHong,
Peng RiHe
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.16323
Subject(s) - betanin , endosperm , betalain , botany , food science , biology , antioxidant , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biochemistry , pigment , organic chemistry
Summary Betanin has been widely used as an additive for many centuries, and its use has increased because of its market application as an additive, high free radical scavenging activity, and safety, health‐promoting properties. The main source of betanin is red beet, but many factors notably affect the yield of betanin from red beets. Betanin is not produced in cereal grains. Thus, developing biofortified crops with betanin is another alternative to health‐promoting food additives. Here, rice endosperm was bioengineered for betanin biosynthesis by introducing three synthetic genes ( meloS , BvDODA1S , and BvCYP76AD1S ). The overexpression of these genes driven by rice endosperm‐specific promoter established the betanin biosynthetic pathways in the endosperm, resulting in new types of germplasm – ‘Betanin Rice’ (BR). The BR grains were enriched with betanin and had relatively high antioxidant activity. Our results proved that betanin can be biosynthesized de novo in rice endosperm by introducing three genes in the committed betanin biosynthetic pathway. The betanin‐fortified rice in this study can be used as a functional grain to promote health and as a raw material to process dietary supplements.