近日，日本筑波大學科學家利用基因編輯技術創(chuàng)造了一種新的花色牽牛花新品種：黃色牽?；?。在自然界中經(jīng)過多年的培育，牽?；ㄓ屑t色、桃色、紫色和白色品種，唯獨沒有黃色品種。日本研究人員通過分析牽?；ǖ幕ò昊ㄉ纬蓹C理，利用CRISPR/Cas9系統(tǒng)在白色牽牛花AK77品種中敲除了InCCD4基因，增加類胡蘿卜素、橙酮等能夠形成黃色色素的物質，最終獲得了使其白色花瓣變成了黃色花瓣的牽?；??；ㄉ蚓庉嫚颗；ㄅc非轉基因植株相比，ccd4突變植株中類胡蘿卜素的含量增加了20倍。
該研究解釋了牽?；]有黃色品種的原因，也表明了通過生物技術手段培育黃色牽?；ǖ目尚行?。同時，該研究也為其它在自然界中花卉品種花色改良提供思路。
對照（白色） 黃色牽牛花 黃色牽?；?/span>
文章信息：
Kenta Watanabe, Chihiro Oda-Yamamizo, Kimiyo Sage-Ono, Akemi Ohmiya, Michiyuki Ono; Alteration of flower colour in Ipomoea nil through CRISPR/Cas9- mediated mutagenesis of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4;Transgenic Research, 15 December 2017
Abstract
Japanese morning glory, Ipomoea nil, exhibits a variety of flower colours, except yellow, reflecting the accumulation of only trace amounts of carotenoids in the petals. In a previous study, we attributed this effect to the low expression levels of carotenogenic genes in the petals, but there may be other contributing factors. In the present study, we investigated the possible involvement of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD), which cleaves specific double bonds of the polyene chains of carotenoids, in the regulation of carotenoid accumulation in the petals of I. nil. Using bioinformatics analysis, sevenInCCD genes were identified in the I. nil genome. Sequencing and expression analyses indicated potential involvement of InCCD4 in carotenoid degradation in the petals. Successful knockout ofInCCD4 using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the white-flowered cultivar I. nil cv. AK77 caused the white petals to turn pale yellow. The total amount of carotenoids in the petals of ccd4 plants was increased 20-fold relative to non-transgenic plants. This result indicates that in the petals of I. nil, not only low carotenogenic gene expression but also carotenoid degradation leads to extremely low levels of carotenoids.