Abstract
Multiple-gene transformation is required to improve or change plant metabolisms effectively; but this many-step procedure is time-consuming and costing. We succeeded in the metabolic engineering of tobacco plants by introducing multiple genes as a bacteria-type operon into a plastid genome. The tobacco plastid was transformed with a polycistron consisting of three bacterial genes for the biosynthesis of a biodegradable polyester, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). Accumulation of PHB in the leaves of the transgenic tobacco indicated that the introduced genes were polycistronically expressed. This "phyto-fermentation" system can be used in plant production of various chemical commodities and pharmaceuticals.
MeSH terms
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Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase / genetics
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Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase / metabolism
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Acyltransferases / genetics
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Acyltransferases / metabolism
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Alcohol Oxidoreductases / genetics
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Alcohol Oxidoreductases / metabolism
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Fermentation
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Gene Expression
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Genes
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Genes, Bacterial
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Genetic Engineering
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Genetic Vectors
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Hydroxybutyrates / metabolism
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Nicotiana / genetics*
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Nicotiana / metabolism*
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Nicotiana / microbiology
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Nucleotidyltransferases / genetics
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Nucleotidyltransferases / metabolism
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Operon
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Plants, Genetically Modified
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Plastids / genetics
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Polyesters / metabolism
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Transformation, Genetic
Substances
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Hydroxybutyrates
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Polyesters
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poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate
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Alcohol Oxidoreductases
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acetoacetyl-CoA reductase
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Acyltransferases
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poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate polymerase
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Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase
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Nucleotidyltransferases
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streptomycin 3''-adenylyltransferase