Creation of a novel enhanced plant for converting both carbon dioxide and nitrite into bioresources by introducing cytochrome and nitrite reductase genes

2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 16580077
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied biochemistry
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: OKU Tadatake Nihon University, College of Bioresource Sciences, Professor, 生物資源科学部, 教授 (20059637)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NISHIO Toshiyuki Nihon University, College of Bioresource Sciences, Associate Professor, 生物資源科学部, 助教授 (10256836)
• Project Period (FY): 2004 – 2006
• Keywords: Arabidopsis thariana / cytochrome / nitrite / reductase

Research Abstract

(1) Examination of carbon dioxide assimilation ability in a mode plant Arabidopsis thariana by introducing cytochrome gene.
Photosynthetic plants convert light energy into chemical energy in the light reactions and synthesize mainly carbohydrates in the dark reactions. Here we report the enhancement of photosynthesis and growth of plants by introducing the gene of an aquatic plant cytochrome, which has been evolutionally eliminated from land plant chloroplasts, into the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The transgenic Arabidopsis not only has increased plant height, and leaf and root lengths, but also has large amounts of chlorophylls, proteins, adenosine 5'-triphosphate, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and starch compared with the wild type. The oxidation of plastoquinone, which is the rate-limiting step of the electron transfer, is clearly accelerated by the introduction of cytochrome.
(2) Clonig of nitrite reductase gene from cyanobacteria.
It is commonly assumed that cyanobactreria have high activity of nitrite reductase. We tried 8 times to construct the primer refered to EST Data Base, and to search for nitrite reductase gene in cyanobacteria. It was quite difficult to search it. Now, we try again to search the gene of high active nitrite rerductase. Futhermore, we attempt to introduce both cytochrome and nitrite reductase genes into Arabidopsis thariana and toverify the effects of introducing the double genes.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Crystal structure of oxidized cytochrome c(6A) from Arabidopsis thaliana (2006)
  • Author(s): Chida H., Yokoyama T., Kawai F., Nakazawa A., Akazaki H., Takayama Y., Hirano T., Suruga K., Satoh T., Yamada S., Kawachi R., Unzai S., Park SY., Oku T.
  • Journal Title: FEBS Letters 580(15) Pages: 3763-3768
  • Description: 「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
• [Journal Article] A novel microperoxidaze activity : methyl viologen-linked nitrite reducing activity of microperoxidase (2004)
  • Author(s): Kohei Suruga, Kiriko Murakami, Yohei Taniyama, Toshiyuki Hama, Hirotaka Tida, Tadashi Satoh, Seiji Yamada, Wataru Hakamata, Ryu Kawati, Yasuhiro Isogai, Toshiyuki Nishio, Tadatake Oku
  • Journal Title: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 315 Pages: 815-822
  • Description: 「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
• [Journal Article] A novel microperoxidaze activity : methyl viologen-linked nitrite reducing activity of microperoxidase (2004)
  • Author(s): Kohei Suruga, Kiriko Murakami, Yohei Taniyama, Toshiyuki Hama, Hirotaka Tida, Tadashi Satoh, Seiji Yamada, Wataru Hakamata, Ryu Kawati, Yasuhiro lsogai, Toshiyuki Nishio, Tadatake Oku
  • Journal Title: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 315 Pages: 815-822
  • Description: 「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より