title: Engineering metabolic pathways in plants by multigene transformation.
abstract: Metabolic engineering in plants can be used to increase the abundance of specific valuable metabolites, but single-point interventions generally do not improve the yields of target metabolites unless that product is immediately downstream of the intervention point and there is a plentiful supply of precursors. In many cases, an intervention is necessary at an early bottleneck, sometimes the first committed step in the pathway, but is often only successful in shifting the bottleneck downstream, sometimes also causing the accumulation of an undesirable metabolic intermediate. Occasionally it has been possible to induce multiple genes in a pathway by controlling the expression of a key regulator, such as a transcription factor, but this strategy is only possible if such master regulators exist and can be identified. A more robust approach is the simultaneous expression of multiple genes in the pathway, preferably representing every critical enzymatic step, therefore removing all bottlenecks and ensuring completely unrestricted metabolic flux. This approach requires the transfer of multiple enzyme-encoding genes to the recipient plant, which is achieved most efficiently if all genes are transferred at the same time. Here we review the state of the art in multigene transformation as applied to metabolic engineering in plants, highlighting some of the most significant recent advances in the field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering (ETSEA), University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Uxue
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Zorrilla-López
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masip
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arjó
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Raviraj
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Banakar
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bassie
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Farré
authors.forename: Bruna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Miralpeix
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pérez-Massot
authors.forename: Maite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabalza
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sanahuja
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vamvaka
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Twyman
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Christou
authors.forename: Changfu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Capell
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D004798:Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism; D020868:Gene Silencing; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods; D060847:Metabolic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D018744:DNA, Plant; D004798:Enzymes; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; C036483:T-DNA; D014157:Transcription Factors