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Transgenic Canola and Soybean Seeds with Increased Lysine

Bio/Technology volume 13, pages 577–582 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

We have increased the lysine content in the seeds of canola and soybean plants by circumventing the normal feedback regulation of two enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway, aspartokinase (AK) and dihydrodipicolinic acid synthase (DHDPS). Lysine-feedback-insensitive bacterial DHDPS and AK enzymes encoded by the Corynebacterium dapA gene and a mutant E. coli lysC gene, respectively, were linked to a chloroplast transit peptide and expressed from a seed-specific promoter in transgenic canola and soybean seeds. Expression of Corynebacterium DHDPS resulted in more than a 100-fold increase hi the accumulation of free lysine in the seeds of canola; total seed lysine content approximately doubled. Expression of Corynebacterium DHDPS plus lysine-insensitive E. coli AK in soybean transformants similarly caused several hundred-fold increases in free lysine and increased total seed lysine content by as much as 5-fold. Accumulation of α-amino adipic acid (AA) in canola and saccharopine in soybean, which are intermediates in lysine catabolism, was also observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Products E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, DE, 19880-0402

    S.C. Falco, T. Guida, M. Locke, J. Mauvais, C. Sanders & R.T. Ward

  2. Central Research & Development, E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, DE, 19880-0402

    P. Webber

  3. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19717-1303

    C. Sanders

Authors
  1. S.C. Falco
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  2. T. Guida
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  3. M. Locke
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  4. J. Mauvais
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  5. C. Sanders
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  6. R.T. Ward
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  7. P. Webber
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Correspondence to S.C. Falco.

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Falco, S., Guida, T., Locke, M. et al. Transgenic Canola and Soybean Seeds with Increased Lysine. Nat Biotechnol 13, 577–582 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0695-577

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0695-577

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