Article

Enhanced Seed Carotenoid Levels and Branching in Transgenic Brassica napus Expressing the Arabidopsis miR156b Gene

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada
School of Tea & Food Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 20036, China
§ Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8, Canada
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, London, ON N5V 4T3, Canada
J. Agric. Food Chem., 2010, 58 (17), pp 9572–9578
DOI: 10.1021/jf102635f
Publication Date (Web): August 13, 2010
Copyright © 2010 American Chemical Society
*Corresponding author. E-mail: abdelali.hannoufa@agr.gc.ca.

Abstract

The Arabidopsis AtmiR156b gene was expressed in Brassica napus under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter and the seed-specific napin promoter. Seed carotenoid levels, branching habit, seed yield, and seed weight were examined in the transgenic B. napus. Our results demonstrated that constitutive expression of AtmiR156b in B. napus resulted in enhanced levels of seed lutein and β-carotene and a 2-fold increase in the number of flowering shoots, whereas AtmiR156b driven by the napin promoter did not affect these traits. This suggested that enhancement of seed quality and shoot branching are both related to AtmiR156b expression patterns. Seed yield and seed weight varied significantly within the transgenic lines. However, one line was found to have enhanced seed carotenoid levels but unchanged seed weight or yield. These data suggest that AtmiR156b gene expression could be applied in plant breeding initiatives for enhancing carotenoid production in canola and other crop species.

Citation data is made available by participants in Crossref's Cited-by Linking service. For a more comprehensive list of citations to this article, users are encouraged to perform a search inSciFinder.

Explore by:

Metrics

Article Views: 888 Times
Received 7 July 2010
Date accepted 4 August 2010
Published online 13 August 2010
Published in print 8 September 2010
+
Altmetric Logo Icon More Article Metrics

Primary Data

This website uses cookies to improve your user experience. By continuing to use the site, you are accepting our use of cookies. Read the ACS privacy policy.

CONTINUE