Development of brilliant blue flowers and a novel reporter gene

2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24658006
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Breeding science
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: KUSABA Makoto 広島大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (20370653)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
• Keywords: レポーター遺伝子

Research Abstract

BPSA from Streptomyces lavendulae converts glutamine into the blue pigment indigoidine. For the activation of BPSA, modification by PPTase is required. The codon usage in Streptomyces lavendulae is quite different from that in Arabidopsis. We introduced artificial BPSA and PPTase genes with the codon usage similar to that of Arabidopsis into E. coli, resulting in the blue pigment production. Next, we produced transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring the artificial genes. However, we did not observe the blue pigment production in either hypocotyls or petals in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants.