Research progress on the regulatory mechanisms of the PSY promoter.
He BB, Zhou XW, Li JJ, Sun J, Xie YQ
Crispr
Every tomato, carrot, and marigold in your garden owes its color to a single genetic switch that scientists can now edit with CRISPR — meaning the next generation of crops could be more nutritious and survive droughts without sacrificing flavor or color.
Plants have a master control gene called phytoene synthase that determines how much color pigment — and how much vitamin A precursor — ends up in their fruits, leaves, and flowers. Researchers have now catalogued all the signals that turn this gene up or down: things like sunlight, drought, and plant stress hormones. Using gene-editing tools like CRISPR, scientists can now precisely adjust these controls to breed crops that are richer in nutrients and better at surviving tough conditions.
Key Findings
The PSY gene's control region contains multiple responsive elements that react to light, three major plant hormones (abscisic acid, ethylene, and jasmonic acid), and environmental stressors including drought, salinity, and temperature shifts.
Epigenetic mechanisms — DNA methylation, histone modifications, and chromatin remodeling — act as additional layers of regulation that fine-tune carotenoid production without changing the underlying DNA sequence.
CRISPR activation and interference (CRISPRa/i) tools can be targeted directly at the PSY promoter to dial carotenoid production up or down, offering a precise strategy for crop biofortification and stress tolerance engineering.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists have mapped all the molecular switches that control how plants make carotenoids — the pigments behind orange carrots, red tomatoes, and yellow flowers, which also supply vitamin A in our diets. This review synthesizes how hormones, light, stress, and gene-editing tools can tune that master switch to improve crops.
Abstract Preview
Carotenoids are essential pigments in the plant photosynthetic apparatus, functioning in light harvesting, photoprotection, and signal transduction, and serving as precursors of vital nutrients suc...
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