Raising the bar for biofortification: enhanced levels of bioavailable calcium in carrots.
Recent efforts to increase the levels of Ca in the edible portions of plants have used a modified calcium/proton antiporter [known as short cation exchanger 1 (sCAX1)] to increase Ca transport into vacuoles. New work has shown that consumption of Ca-fortified carrots results in enhanced Ca absorption. These studies highlight the potential of increasing plant nutrient content through expression of a high-capacity transporter and illustrate the importance of demonstrating that the fortified nutrient is bioavailable.
Connolly
Erin L
EL
Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 715 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29208, USA. erinc@biol.sc.edu
D017920:Antiporters / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism*; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018552:Daucus carota / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D017920:Antiporters; D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; C027614:calcium-hydrogen antiporters