German scientists from the Leibniz University of Hannover have found a key gene responsible for the production of the toxic alkaloid gramine in barley, one of the world’s most widely grown grains. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Science.
Grameen protects against herbivorous insects and grazing animals and also inhibits the growth of other plants. Despite long-standing research interest, the gene responsible for the formation of gramin has still not been found.
Geneticists have identified a cluster of two genes in barley that are responsible for biosynthesis in grains: HvNMT and HvAMIS. It turned out that the toxin was formed in grains due to the second element in the pair.
Research team leader Dr. “We discovered that AMIS is an oxidase enzyme that performs an unusual latent oxidative rearrangement of tryptophan, allowing us to reevaluate previous biosynthetic hypotheses,” said John D’Auria.
According to scientists, thanks to their invention, it will now be possible to synthesize pure gramine and create toxin-free, genetically modified barley for the needs of the medical sector.
Previous researchers I learned80 percent of Americans are exposed to a little-studied toxin.
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Source: Gazeta
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