Russia uses E.coli genes to produce transgenic tobacco

Russian experts have implanted a sugar synthesis gene from E. coli into the genome of tobacco shoots to produce more powerful tobacco. According to the latest issue of the Russian Journal of Chemistry and Life, experts from the Institute of Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered that the "XYLA" gene of E. coli can direct the synthesis of xylose isomerase. This enzyme converts many of the sugars originally synthesized by E. coli into carbohydrates with nutritional value. In order to study whether the "XYLA" gene can also play the above-mentioned role in plants, researchers have isolated it and implanted it into the genome of tobacco shoots. In the constant temperature environment of artificial lighting, the transgenic tobacco buds gradually developed into tobacco plants in the medium. Through laboratory tests and observations, experts found that the “XYLA” gene not only survived in the tobacco genome, but also actively guided the synthesis of xylose isomerase. Xylose isomerase also converts xylose and fructose in tobacco to xylulose and glucose, respectively, and promotes the introduction of xylulose and glucose into the nutrient storage organs of tobacco. In these organs the sugars are broken down and then they are involved in the synthesis of the stems and seed growing material for tobacco. The comparative observation results showed that the growth rate and size of the axillary buds (buds on both sides of the leaf and stalk junctions) of the transgenic tobacco were superior to those of ordinary tobacco. Gordenko, the expert in charge of the research, revealed that using the results of genetically modified tobacco cultivation, Russian researchers are further exploring the interrelationship between heterogeneous genes and crop sugar synthesis, chloroplast activity, and hormone levels in order to cultivate high-yielding crops. .

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