Abstract
Nearly one-third of the world's population, mostly women and children, suffer from iron malnutrition and its consequences, such as anaemia or impaired mental development. Iron fortification of food is difficult because soluble iron is either unstable or unpalatable, and non-soluble iron is not bioavailable. Genetic engineering of crop plants to increase iron content has therefore emerged as an alternative for iron biofortification. To date, strategies to increase iron content have relied on single genes, with limited success. Our work focuses on rice as a model plant, because it feeds one-half of the world's population, including the majority of the iron-malnourished population. Using the targeted expression of two transgenes, nicotianamine synthase and ferritin, we increased the iron content of rice endosperm by more than six-fold. Analysis of transgenic rice lines confirmed that, in combination, they provide a synergistic effect on iron uptake and storage. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry showed that the iron in the endosperm of the transgenic rice lines accumulated in spots, most probably as a consequence of spatially restricted ferritin accumulation. Agronomic evaluation of the high-iron rice lines did not reveal a yield penalty or significant changes in trait characters, except for a tendency to earlier flowering. Overall, we have demonstrated that rice can be engineered with a small number of genes to achieve iron biofortification at a dietary significant level.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Targeted expression of nicotianamine synthase and ferritin increased rice endosperm iron more than six-fold.
- Taxon
- rice
Oryza sativae0 - Treatment
- targeted expression of two transgenese0
- Gene
- nicotianamine synthase and ferritine0
- Outcome
- iron content of rice endosperme0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- more than six-folde0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Using the targeted expression of two transgenes, nicotianamine synthase and ferritin, we increased the iron content of rice endosperm by more than six-fold.”
Claim · model-written summary
The two transgenes together had a synergistic effect on iron uptake and storage in rice.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativae0
- Material
- transgenic rice linese1
- Outcome
- iron uptake and storagee1
- Qualifier
- synergistic effecte1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“rice”
e1“Analysis of transgenic rice lines confirmed that, in combination, they provide a synergistic effect on iron uptake and storage.”
Claim · model-written summary
Iron accumulated in spots in the endosperm of transgenic rice lines.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativae0
- Material
- transgenic rice linese0
- Outcome
- iron in the endosperm of the transgenic rice lines accumulated in spotse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry showed that the iron in the endosperm of the transgenic rice lines accumulated in spots”
Claim · model-written summary
Spatially restricted ferritin accumulation probably explains the iron spots in rice endosperm.
- Taxon
- RiceOryza sativat0
- Gene
- ferritine0
- Outcome
- iron in the endosperm of the transgenic rice lines accumulated in spotse0
- Qualifier
- most probablye0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Rice”
e0“the iron in the endosperm of the transgenic rice lines accumulated in spots, most probably as a consequence of spatially restricted ferritin accumulation”
Claim · model-written summary
High-iron rice lines showed no yield penalty.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativae0
- Material
- high-iron rice linese0
- Outcome
- yield penaltye0
- Direction
- did not reveale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Agronomic evaluation of the high-iron rice lines did not reveal a yield penalty”
Claim · model-written summary
High-iron rice lines showed no significant changes in trait characters.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativae0
- Material
- high-iron rice linese0
- Outcome
- trait characterse0
- Direction
- did not reveale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Agronomic evaluation of the high-iron rice lines did not reveal a yield penalty or significant changes in trait characters”
Claim · model-written summary
High-iron rice lines tended to flower earlier.
- Taxon
- RiceOryza sativat0
- Outcome
- floweringe0
- Direction
- earliere0
- Qualifier
- a tendencye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Rice”
e0“except for a tendency to earlier flowering”
The same questions in other papers
transgenic · nutrient: content · Oryza sativa (rice)Positive and negative results
24 papers in the same direction as this paper · 5 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- positive
- positive
26 papers more in this group
See all 30 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.