Expression of a yeast-derived invertase in the cell wall of tobacco and Arabidopsis plants leads to accumulation of carbohydrate and inhibition of photosynthesis and strongly influences growth and phenotype of transgenic tobacco plants.

Chimeric genes consisting of the coding sequence of the yeast invertase gene suc 2 and different N-terminal portions of the potato-derived vacuolar protein proteinase inhibitor II fused to the 35S CaMV promoter and the poly-A site of the octopine synthase gene were transferred into tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana plants using Agrobacterium based systems. Regenerated transgenic plants display a 50- to 500-fold higher invertase activity compared to non-transformed control plants. This invertase is N-glycosylated and efficiently secreted from the plant cell leading to its apoplastic location. Whereas expression of the invertase does not lead to drastic changes in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants, transgenic tobacco plants show dramatic changes with respect to development and phenotype. Expression of the invertase leads to stunted growth due to reduction of internodal distances, to development of bleached and/or necrotic regions in older leaves and to suppressed root formation. In mature leaves, high levels of soluble sugars and starch accumulate. These carbohydrates do not show a diurnal turnover. The accumulation of carbohydrate is accompanied by an inhibition of photosynthesis, and in tobacco, by an increase in the rate of respiration. Measurements in bleached versus green areas of the same leaf show that the bleached section contains high levels of carbohydrates and has lower photosynthesis and higher respiration than green sections. It is concluded that expression of invertase in the cell wall interrupts export and leads to an accumulation of carbohydrates and inhibition of photosynthesis.