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Team:Harvard/color
From 2010.igem.org
abstract lab notebook pigment metabolism engineering pathways targeting the petals parts & primers results references
abstract
One of the most interesting properties of plants is their immense metabolic capability. Some of the most important metabolites of plants are pigments which aid in photosynthesis, many of which infer color upon the plant tissue. In this sub-project, we aim to alter the color of arabidopsis flowers by adjusting the carotenoid metabolic pathway via artificial microRNA interference.
Our target pigments are two elements of the carotenoid metabolic pathway - lycopene (red) and beta-carotene (orange). We aim to accumulate these compounds by using RNA interference to knock down enzymes catalyzing the steps in the metabolic pathway that use use pigments as precursors. We have targeted three enzymes for knockdown, and will express these knockdown constructs using a petal specific promoter to localize pigment accumulation
We plan to incorporate color modification into the iGarden both as an interesting feature and as an indication of genetic modification. Eventually, we hope to develop a system in which we can confer different colors upon plants containing different constructs, providing unique visual markers for plants that express differing traits.
