title: Increasing ascorbate levels in crops to enhance human nutrition and plant abiotic stress tolerance.
abstract: Ascorbate (or vitamin C) is an essential human micronutrient predominantly obtained from plants. In addition to preventing scurvy, it is now known to have broader roles in human health, for example as a cofactor for enzymes involved in epigenetic programming and as regulator of cellular iron uptake. Furthermore, ascorbate is the major antioxidant in plants and underpins many environmentally induced abiotic stress responses. Biotechnological approaches to enhance the ascorbate content of crops therefore have potential to improve both human health and abiotic stress tolerance of crops. Identifying the genetic basis of ascorbate variation between plant varieties and discovering how some 'super fruits' accumulate extremely high levels of ascorbate should reveal new ways to more effectively manipulate the production of ascorbate in crops.
authors.affiliation: University of Otago, Department of Biochemistry, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; Queensland University of Technology, Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Institute for Future Environments, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia. Electronic address: richard.macknight@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Macknight
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Food Industry Science Centre, Bachelor Road, Palmerston North 4474, New Zealand.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Laing
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 412 No 1 Road, RD 2, Te Puke 3182, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bulley
authors.affiliation: The University of Melbourne, School of BioSciences, Parkville, Melbourne, 3010 VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Ronan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Broad
authors.affiliation: The University of Melbourne, School of BioSciences, Parkville, Melbourne, 3010 VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Alexander At
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Queensland University of Technology, Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Institute for Future Environments, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Roger P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Hellens
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D001205:Ascorbic Acid