title: Transgenic tobacco expressing Vitreoscilla hemoglobin exhibits enhanced growth and altered metabolite production.
abstract: The gene for Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) has been introduced and expressed in Nicotiana tabaccum (tobacco). Transgenic tobacco plants expressing VHb exhibited enhanced growth, on average 80-100% more dry weight after 35 days of growth compared to wild-type controls. Furthermore, germination time is reduced from 6-8 days for wild-type tobacco to 3-4 days and the growth phase from germination to flowering was 3-5 days shorter for the VHb-expressing transgenes. Transgenic plants contained, on average, 30-40% more chlorophyll and 34% more nicotine than controls. VHb expression also resulted in an altered distribution of secondary metabolites: In the trangenic tobacco plants anabasine content was decreased 80% relative to control plants.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pure and Applied Biochemistry, Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Holmberg
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lilius
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bülow
mesh_terms: D000691:Anabasine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006088:Gram-Negative Aerobic Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000235:genetics*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D002734:Chlorophyll; D009538:Nicotine; D000691:Anabasine