Stable expression of silencing-suppressor protein enhances the performance and longevity of an engineered metabolic pathway.

ABSTRACT: Transgenic engineering of plants is important in both basic and applied research. However, the expression of a transgene can dwindle over time as the plant's small (s)RNA-guided silencing pathways shut it down. The silencing pathways have evolved as antiviral defence mechanisms, and viruses have co-evolved viral silencing-suppressor proteins (VSPs) to block them. Therefore, VSPs have been routinely used alongside desired transgene constructs to enhance their expression in transient assays. However, constitutive, stable expression of a VSP in a plant usually causes pronounced developmental abnormalities, as their actions interfere with endogenous microRNA-regulated processes, and has largely precluded the use of VSPs as an aid to stable transgene expression. In an attempt to avoid the delet

SUBMITTER: Naim F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5063197 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature