- Rice plants contain a gene that codes for the production of beta-carotene.
- It is a photosynthetic molecule so is required in the green parts of the plant.
- In the parts of the plant that are eaten (the endosperm) the genes for beta carotene are switched off.
Scientists have worked to engineer rice plants that produce beta-carotene in the endosperm.
Engineering Golden Rice
- Insertion of two genes into the rice genome were needed to activate the metabolic pathway in the endosperm cells:
- Phytoene synthetase
- Crt 1 enzyme
- They were inserted into the genome near a specific promoter sequence that switches on genes associated with endosperm development.
- They were expressed as the endosperm grew.
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