NEWS | Chic >
Implementation of NPBT in chicory for bioactive terpenes
Root chicory is grown for inulin, but it also produces a number of compounds in its latex. These compounds belong to the class of terpenes and the most abundant of these are sesquiterpene lactones (STLs), which have a potential as antimicrobial and anticancer bioactives.
However these compounds may interfere with the extraction of inulin. Therefore in CHIC we have the following twofold objectives:
- To understand how these terpenes accumulate in the latex, how laticifers (the specialized cells that accumulate latex) develop and characterize the bioactivity of compounds that are present in the latex. With this knowledge at hand, chicory could be developed as a biofactory for the production of valuable sesquiterpene lactones. To reduce the impact of latex in the extraction of inulin, we aim to decrease the number of laticifer cells in the tap root.
- Our data shows that the early steps of STLs biosynthesis take place outside of the laticifer cells and STLs accumulate inside of laticifers by transportation mediated process. Based on this information, candidate genes for the development of laticifers and biosynthesis of STLs have been selected. Preliminary bioactivity assays indicate the presence of anti-biofilm activities.
Furthermore, candidate genes involved in the accumulation of costunolide and parthenolide have been identified to generate modified plants with higher amount of parthenolide, an anticancer compound.
More news about this project:
How art and science are helping chicory: an inside look at the new CHIC project
Among the various projects which are supported through the EU Horizon 2020 funding programme is the CHIC research and innovation project.
CHIC scientists and artists meeting at Keygene
Scientists and artists meet at KeyGene -an independent biotechnology company- in Wageningen, last week. The CHIC project aimed at implementing New Plant Breeding Techniques in chicory, in order to establish it as a multipurpose crop for sustainable molecular farming of products with consumer benefits
CHIC project at the European Researchers’ Night in Belgrade (Serbia)
The Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” has presented the CHIC project at European Researchers’ Night 2018, held in Belgrade, september 28th – 29th.