You are here
A METHOD FOR THE STABLE SUPPRESSION OF GENE ACTIVITY IN PLANTS
Title: Director
Phone: () -
ONE MAJOR LIMITATION TO PLANT VARIETY IMPROVEMENT VIA GENETIC ENGINEERING IS THE INABILITY TO SPECIFICALLY INACTIVATE GENES, EITHER PLANT GENES WHICH CONFER A DELETERIOUS PHENOTYPE, OR VIRAL GENES WHICH FUNCTION TO INITIATE THE INFECTION PROCESS. ADVANCED GENETIC SCIENCES, INC. PROPOSES TO EVALUATE A METHOD WHICH WILL ALLOW SUPPRESSION OF GENES IN A TISSUE-SPECIFIC AND REGULATED WAY. THE EXPERIMENT INVOLVES THE STABLE TRANSFORMATION OF TOBACCO PLANTS WHICH CARRIES A NOPALINE SYNTHASE (NOS) GENE, WITH A FUSION BETWEEN A LIGHT-INDUCIBLE, LEAF-SPECIFIC PROMOTER, AND THE INVERTED NOS GENE CODING REGION (IE. ANTI-SENSE STRAND). THE RESEARCHERS WILL TEST WHETHER THE PLANTS TRANSFORMED WITH THE ANTI-SENSE CONSTRUCTS HAVE DECREASED LEVELS OF NOS ACTIVITY, AND WHETHER THIS SUPPRESSION OF ACTIVITY IS REGULATED IN A MANNER WHICH CORRESPONDS WITH THE EXPRESSION OF THE ANTI-SENSE (IE. LIGHT REGULATED, LEAF-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION).
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *