Genetic Approaches for Vitamin B6 Biofortification
Rebecca Wong
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Zheng-Hui He
Vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient for the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana. While the biosynthesis pathway and sequestration of vitamin B6 in Arabidopsis are well understood at each molecular stage, successful lines for vitamin overaccumulation have yet to be created. Prior research developed a transgenic line of Arabidopsis that overexpresses B6 biosynthesis proteins. Contrary to expectations, success levels were low due to the vitamin’s inherent cytotoxicity at high concentrations without safe sequestration. I hypothesize that by overexpressing one of the “storage” genes, aspartate aminotransferase 2 (ASP2), in Arabidopsis, we can biofortify the plants with vitamin B6. Transformation vectors carrying the ASP2 gene with a constitutive strong promoter were successfully constructed in E coli cells. Plasmids of the transformation vector were purified and verified by gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reactions. Experiments are underway to introduce the ASP2 gene transgene into Arabidopsis plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The overexpression of ASP2 will provide insights into effective strategies for biofortifying vitamin B6 in agricultural staple crops and mass-producing vitamin B6 biologically.