Nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase as targets to study gene silencing phenomena in transgenic plants

Nitrate assimilation is a fundamental function in any plant including those that can fix atmospheric nitrogen in symbiosis with soil bacteria. In recent years, attempts have been made to understand the biological significance of the complex regulation of this pathway using genetic engineering techni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Euphytica 1997, Vol.93 (2), p.195-200
Main Authors: VAUCHERET, H, PALAUQUI, J.-C, MOURRAIN, P, ELMAYAN, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural sciences
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Bacteria
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Classical and quantitative genetics. Population genetics. Molecular genetics
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
gene
Generalities. Genetics. Plant material
Genes
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering applications
Genetics and breeding of economic plants
Life Sciences
Molecular genetics
Nicotiana tabacum
nitrate reductase
Nitrates
nitrato reductasa
nitrite reductase
nitrito reductasa
Plant breeding: fundamental aspects and methodology
plantas transgenicas
plante transgenique
Symbiosis
Transgenic plants
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Summary:Nitrate assimilation is a fundamental function in any plant including those that can fix atmospheric nitrogen in symbiosis with soil bacteria. In recent years, attempts have been made to understand the biological significance of the complex regulation of this pathway using genetic engineering techniques. Transgenic plants that either over- or under-express genes of the nitrate assimilation pathway were created in order to determine whether such directed changes affect the regulation of the metabolism. Apart from interesting physiological results, unexpected gene silencing phenomena have been observed resulting from the introduction of five different transgenes derived from either the tobacco Nia or Nii genes encoding nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, respectively. In this review, each of these five silencing phenomena is described, with the emphasis on the advantages provided by the use of both Nia and Nii genes to analyze the molecular and genetic basis of gene silencing in transgenic plants.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0014-2336
1573-5060
DOI:10.1023/A:1002996818918