Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding, Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
J Exp Bot. 2022 Mar 2;73(5):1258-1267. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erab482.
Crop biofortification is pivotal in preventing malnutrition, with lysine considered the main limiting essential amino acid (EAA) required to maintain human health. Lysine deficiency is predominant in developing countries where cereal crops are the staple food, highlighting the need for efforts aimed at enriching the staple diet through lysine biofortification. Successful modification of aspartate kinase (AK) and dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) feedback inhibition has been used to enrich lysine in transgenic rice plants without yield penalty, while increases in the lysine content of quality protein maize have been achieved via marker-assisted selection. Here, we reviewed the lysine metabolic pathway and proposed the use of metabolic engineering targets as the preferred option for fortification of lysine in crops. Use of gene editing technologies to translate the findings and engineer lysine catabolism is thus a pioneering step forward.
作物生物强化在预防营养不良方面至关重要，赖氨酸被认为是维持人体健康所需的主要限制必需氨基酸（EAA）。赖氨酸缺乏在以谷物为主要食物的发展中国家更为普遍，这凸显了通过赖氨酸生物强化来丰富主食的必要性。成功修饰天冬氨酸激酶（AK）和二氢二吡啶羧酸合酶（DHDPS）的反馈抑制作用，可在不降低产量的情况下提高转基因水稻植株中的赖氨酸含量，而通过标记辅助选择提高优质蛋白玉米中的赖氨酸含量。在这里，我们综述了赖氨酸代谢途径，并提出将代谢工程靶点作为在作物中强化赖氨酸的首选方案。因此，利用基因编辑技术转化研究成果并对赖氨酸进行代谢工程是一项开创性的工作。
