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:
Urgent scientific advances for Spanish agriculture: Genetic editing proposal under debate in the EU
The European Union faces a crucial decision on the use of plants developed with New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in agriculture before the upcoming elections.
Avances científicos urgentes para la agricultura española: Propuesta de edición genética en debate en la UE
La Unión Europea se enfrenta a la crucial decisión sobre la utilización de Plantas obtenidas con Nuevas Técnicas Genómicas (NGT) en la agricultura antes de las próximas elecciones.
Researchers make chicory plants without bitter compounds using CRISPR/Cas method
Researchers have used new breeding techniques to develop a chicory variety that no longer contains bitter compounds. The research consortium published their results in the Plant Biotechnology Journal.
