Non-specific activities of the major herbicide-resistance gene BAR.

ABSTRACT: Bialaphos resistance (BAR) and phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) genes, which convey resistance to the broad-spectrum herbicide phosphinothricin (also known as glufosinate) via N-acetylation, have been globally used in basic plant research and genetically engineered crops ^1-4 . Although early in vitro enzyme assays showed that recombinant BAR and PAT exhibit substrate preference toward phosphinothricin over the 20 proteinogenic amino acids ¹ , indirect effects of BAR-containing transgenes in planta, including modified amino acid levels, have been seen but without the identification of their direct causes ^5,6 . Combining metabolomics, plant genetics and biochemical approaches, we show that transgenic BAR indeed converts two plant endogenous amino acid

SUBMITTER: Christ B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6342461 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature