Gene-edited potatoes pack in more vitamin A precursor
Nasir U, Yasmeen A, Awais M, Latif A, Bakhsh A
Crispr
The humble potato, already a dinner-table staple for billions, could become a frontline defense against a nutrient deficiency that blinds and sickens children in food-insecure regions.
Researchers used CRISPR gene editing to switch off a gene called BCH in potato plants, which controls how the plant processes beta-carotene, the orange pigment your body turns into vitamin A. With that gene dialed down, the edited potatoes built up far more beta-carotene than normal ones, sometimes over ten times as much. Because potatoes are eaten worldwide, boosting their nutrient content this way could help fight vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of preventable blindness in children.
Key Findings
Multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 editing of the BCH gene achieved up to 92.1% indel efficiency and reduced BCH transcript levels by 89-fold in edited potato lines.
Spectrophotometry showed beta-carotene rising from a control baseline of 0.344 µg/mL to as high as 4.236 µg/mL fresh weight in edited plants.
HPLC confirmed the increase, with edited lines reaching up to 0.36 mg/mL beta-carotene versus 0.09 mg/mL in unedited control plants.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists used gene-editing tool CRISPR to switch off a specific gene in potatoes, causing the tubers to pack in far more beta-carotene, the nutrient the body converts into vitamin A. This kind of biofortified crop could help address vitamin A deficiency, a major cause of malnutrition and blindness in parts of the world.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 mediated knockdown of BCH gene in potato enhances beta-carotene to combat vitamin A deficiency.
The inadequate amounts of provitamin A carotenoids in crops contribute to the widespread vitamin A deficiency, leading to malnutrition and blindness in humans. Suppression of the β-carotene hydroxy...
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The potato is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.