GmTMT2a from soybean elevates the a-tocopherol content in corn and Arabidopsis

Reference Report for AP20210719.2

Title:	GmTMT2a from soybean elevates the a-tocopherol content in corn and Arabidopsis
Authors:	Zhang, L., Luo, Y., Zhu, Y., Zhang, L., Zhang, W., Chen R., Xu, M., Fan, Y., Wang, L.
Source:	Zhang et al. 2013 Transgenic Res., 22:1021-1028
Abstract:	Tocochromanol, or vitamin E, plays a crucial role in human and animal nutrition and is synthesized only by photosynthetic organisms. c-Tocopherol methyltransferase (c-TMT), one of the key enzymes in the tocopherol biosynthetic pathway in plants, converts c, d-tocopherols into a-, b-tocopherols. Tocopherol content was investigated in 15 soybean cultivars and GmTMT2 was isolated from five varieties based on tocopherol content. GmTMT2a was expressed in E. coli and the purified protein effectively converted c-tocopherol into a-tocopherol in vitro. Overexpression of GmTMT2a enhanced a-tocopherol content 46-fold in transgenic Arabidopsis, and a-tocopherol content increased 34.5-fold in transgenic maize seed, which correlated with the accumulation of GmTMT2a. Transgenic corn that is a-tocopherol-rich may be beneficial for animal health and growth.

Funded by the USDA-ARS. Developed by the USDA-ARS SoyBase and Legume Clade Database group at the Iowa State University, Ames, IA

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