Inhibition of the ADP-glucose Pyrophosphorylase in Transgenic Potatoes Leads to Sugar-storing Tubers and Influences Tuber Formation and Expression of Tuber Storage Protein Genes

Overview

Journal EMBO J

Specialties Biotechnology
Molecular Biology

Date 1992 Apr 1

PMID 1373373

Citations 124

Authors

B Muller-Rober

U Sonnewald

L Willmitzer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Transgenic potato plants were created in which the expression of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) was inhibited by introducing a chimeric gene containing the coding region of one of the subunits of the AGPase linked in an antisense orientation to the CaMV 35S promoter. Partial inhibition of the AGPase enzyme was achieved in leaves and almost complete inhibition in tubers. This resulted in the abolition of starch formation in tubers, thus proving that AGPase has a unique role in starch biosynthesis in plants. Instead up to 30% of the dry weight of the transgenic potato tubers was represented by sucrose and up to 8% by glucose. The process of tuber formation also changed, resulting in significantly more tubers both per plant and per stolon. The accumulation of soluble sugars in tubers of antisense plants resulted in a significant increase of the total tuber fresh weight, but a decrease in dry weight of tubers. There was no significant change in the RNA levels of several other starch biosynthetic enzymes, but there was a great increase in the RNA level of the major sucrose synthesizing enzyme sucrose phosphate synthase. In addition, the inhibition of starch biosynthesis was accompanied by a massive reduction in the expression of the major storage protein species of potato tubers, supporting the idea that the expression of storage protein genes is in some way connected to carbohydrate formation in sink storage tissues.

Citing Articles

A global overview of transcriptome dynamics during the late stage of flower bud development in Camellia oleifera.

Song H, Duan Z, Huo H, Wang X, Wang Y, Chen J BMC Plant Biol. 2025; 25(1):247.

PMID: 39994516 PMC: 11849288. DOI: 10.1186/s12870-025-06201-w.

Sucrose induces flowering by degradation of the floral repressor Ghd7 via K48-linked polyubiquitination in rice.

Cho L, Yoon J, Baek G, Tun W, Kwon H, Lee D J Integr Plant Biol. 2024; 66(12):2683-2700.

PMID: 39417650 PMC: 11622536. DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13790.

Optimization of vine killing date for maximum seed-tuber yield and minimum exposure to late-season aphid vectors in potato.

Kumar P, Shah M, Singh R, Kumar Sharma A, Kumar R, Sharma A Heliyon. 2024; 10(19):e38639.

PMID: 39397960 PMC: 11470499. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38639.

Functional Characterization of JcSWEET12 and JcSWEET17a from Physic Nut.

Wu P, Wu Y, Yu Z, Jiang H, Wu G, Chen Y Int J Mol Sci. 2024; 25(15).

PMID: 39125752 PMC: 11311823. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158183.

Understanding the Saffron Corm Development-Insights into Histological and Metabolic Aspects.

Pallotti C, Renau-Morata B, Cardone L, Nebauer S, Albinana Palacios M, Rivas-Sendra A Plants (Basel). 2024; 13(8).

PMID: 38674534 PMC: 11055066. DOI: 10.3390/plants13081125.

References

Siddik Z, Boxall F, HARRAP K . Flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometric determination of platinum in tissues solubilized in hyamine hydroxide. Anal Biochem. 1987; 163(1):21-6. DOI: 10.1016/0003-2697(87)90087-x. View

Deblaere R, Bytebier B, De Greve H, Deboeck F, Schell J, Van Montagu M . Efficient octopine Ti plasmid-derived vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer to plants. Nucleic Acids Res. 1985; 13(13):4777-88. PMC: 321826. DOI: 10.1093/nar/13.13.4777. View

Stitt M, Gerhardt R, Kurzel B, Heldt H . A role for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the regulation of sucrose synthesis in spinach leaves. Plant Physiol. 1983; 72(4):1139-41. PMC: 1066390. DOI: 10.1104/pp.72.4.1139. View

Plaxton W, Preiss J . Purification and Properties of Nonproteolytic Degraded ADPglucose Pyrophosphorylase from Maize Endosperm. Plant Physiol. 1987; 83(1):105-12. PMC: 1056306. DOI: 10.1104/pp.83.1.105. View

Lin T, Caspar T, Somerville C, Preiss J . Isolation and Characterization of a Starchless Mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh Lacking ADPglucose Pyrophosphorylase Activity. Plant Physiol. 1988; 86(4):1131-5. PMC: 1054640. DOI: 10.1104/pp.86.4.1131. View

Lin T, Caspar T, Somerville C, Preiss J . A Starch Deficient Mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana with Low ADPglucose Pyrophosphorylase Activity Lacks One of the Two Subunits of the Enzyme. Plant Physiol. 1988; 88(4):1175-81. PMC: 1055736. DOI: 10.1104/pp.88.4.1175. View

Smith A, Bettey M, Bedford I . Evidence that the rb Locus Alters the Starch Content of Developing Pea Embryos through an Effect on ADP Glucose Pyrophosphorylase. Plant Physiol. 1989; 89(4):1279-84. PMC: 1056009. DOI: 10.1104/pp.89.4.1279. View

Okita T, Nakata P, Anderson J, Sowokinos J, Morell M, Preiss J . The Subunit Structure of Potato Tuber ADPglucose Pyrophosphorylase. Plant Physiol. 1990; 93(2):785-90. PMC: 1062584. DOI: 10.1104/pp.93.2.785. View

Suh S, Peterson J, Stiekema W, Hannapel D . Purification and characterization of the 22-kilodalton potato tuber proteins. Plant Physiol. 1990; 94(1):40-5. PMC: 1077186. DOI: 10.1104/pp.94.1.40. View

10.

Riens B, Lohaus G, Heineke D, Heldt H . Amino Acid and sucrose content determined in the cytosolic, chloroplastic, and vacuolar compartments and in the Phloem sap of spinach leaves. Plant Physiol. 1991; 97(1):227-33. PMC: 1080988. DOI: 10.1104/pp.97.1.227. View

11.

Creech R . Genetic Control of Carbohydrate Synthesis in Maize Endosperm. Genetics. 1965; 52(6):1175-86. PMC: 1210974. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/52.6.1175. View

12.

Tsai C, Larkins B, Glover D . Interaction of the opaque-2 gene with starch-forming mutant genes on the synthesis of zein in maize endosperm. Biochem Genet. 1978; 16(9-10):883-96. DOI: 10.1007/BF00483740. View

13.

Bradford M . A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 1976; 72:248-54. DOI: 10.1016/0003-2697(76)90527-3. View

14.

Vervliet G, Holsters M, Teuchy H, Van Montagu M, Schell J . Characterization of different plaque-forming and defective temperate phages in Agrobacterium. J Gen Virol. 1975; 26(1):33-48. DOI: 10.1099/0022-1317-26-1-33. View

15.

du Jardin P, Berhin A . Isolation and sequence analysis of a cDNA clone encoding a subunit of the ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase of potato tuber amyloplasts. Plant Mol Biol. 1991; 16(2):349-51. DOI: 10.1007/BF00020568. View

16.

Kossmann J, Hannah L, Willmitzer L, Sonnewald U . One of two different ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase genes from potato responds strongly to elevated levels of sucrose. Mol Gen Genet. 1990; 224(1):136-46. DOI: 10.1007/BF00259460. View

17.

Kossmann J, Visser R, Muller-Rober B, Willmitzer L, Sonnewald U . Cloning and expression analysis of a potato cDNA that encodes branching enzyme: evidence for co-expression of starch biosynthetic genes. Mol Gen Genet. 1991; 230(1-2):39-44. DOI: 10.1007/BF00290648. View

18.

Bhave M, Lawrence S, Barton C, Hannah L . Identification and molecular characterization of shrunken-2 cDNA clones of maize. Plant Cell. 1990; 2(6):581-8. PMC: 159913. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.2.6.581. View

19.

Johnson R, Ryan C . Wound-inducible potato inhibitor II genes: enhancement of expression by sucrose. Plant Mol Biol. 1990; 14(4):527-36. DOI: 10.1007/BF00027498. View

20.

Turner S, Barratt D, Casey R . The effect of different alleles at the r locus on the synthesis of seed storage proteins in Pisum sativum. Plant Mol Biol. 1990; 14(5):793-803. DOI: 10.1007/BF00016512. View