Transplanting obesity gene into RNA increases crop yields by 50%

Xingkun from Aofei Temple
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If you find the right path, increasing crop yields by 50% is no longer a dream.

Traditional agricultural production methods have limited impact on increasing yields. In order to find new breakthroughs, the Peking University research team took advantage of animals and used their obesity genes to make plants "fatter".

Of course, the role that animal genes can play in plants is not fat synthesis. The genes that control fat synthesis are controlled by other genes.

This gene, which directs other genes to work like a commander, issues orders in the same way in both animals and plants.

Therefore, we can borrow the commander genes in animals to direct the work of plant genes, speed up the production process, and achieve the goal of a breakthrough increase in crop yields.

What did they do to rice?

In layman's terms, allowing plants to be controlled by animal genes is called genetic modification.

The animal obesity gene FTO is transferred into rice cells and used to control gene expression, thereby achieving the goal of increasing yield.

As for the specific transfer process, the FTO gene fragment is carried on circular DNA, which infects plant cells through Agrobacterium tumefaciens and enters the plant cells.

The protein expressed by the FTO gene in rice cells can erase RNA methylation modification m6A and affect the expression of related RNA functions.

The result of the genetic modification process is:

The yield of a single rice plant increased to three times the original level, and the yield of genetically modified rice planted in the field increased to 1.5 times.

△ Nipp-unmodified strain; FTOmut-introduced exogenous FTO gene but inhibited its expression; FTO-overexpressed FTO gene strain

Whether the results are reliable is another question worth discussing.

The monocotyledonous crop rice can achieve high yields through genetic modification. The dicotyledonous crop potato has also achieved a 50% increase in yield after the same genetic modification.

△ EM3-unmodified strain; FTO-overexpressed FTO gene strain

In addition to increasing yield, genetic modification also has an impact on other traits of rice.

The transferred genes promoted the proliferation of root apical meristem cells, increasing the number of roots and root length.

The transgenic rice had an increased number of tillers, improved photosynthesis efficiency, and accumulated more biomass.

How FTO works

How does the animal obesity gene FTO control rice gene expression in rice cells?

To explore this process, we need to understand the working principle of FTO protein and related physiological processes.

First, we need to understand the target of FTO protein, m6A.

m6A - methylation modification of the sixth nitrogen atom of adenine on the RNA chain is the most common mRNA modification, regulating gene expression during the RNA protein translation process.
m6A mainly exists in the untranslated region of mRNA, participates in the mRNA processing process, and plays a role in translation initiation and maintaining stability. It is jointly regulated by methyltransferases (Writers), demethylases (Erasers) and methylation readers (Readers). All RNA-related functions are affected by m6A.

Secondly, understand the role of FTO in cells.

FTO is the first m6A demethylase (eraser) discovered. FTO protein erases m6A on RNA chains, which can promote chromatin opening, activate transcription, and change the expression process of related genes.

FTO-mediated demethylation affects cell growth and reproduction and is closely related to fat development in mammals. In plants, the introduction of m6A demethylase to regulate m6A levels can also play a role in changing plant growth.

The transferred and successfully expressed FTO increased the expression levels of approximately 11,000 and 7,000 genes in rice leaves and roots, respectively, and activated multiple physiological pathways.

△ Shows the changes in gene expression in multiple physiological processes related to FTO protein

Application prospects of this technology

The above research content shows that the introduction of FTO protein gene has made a breakthrough in improving rice yield, and this technology has application value in increasing crop yields.

The FTO gene has been proven to effectively increase the yield of different crops, proving that this method has universal applicability . For most plants, just turning on the "FTO" switch can achieve a significant increase in yield.

FTO's regulation of functional gene expression not only increases yield, but also changes agronomic traits such as crop roots, improves drought resistance, and provides new ideas for variety improvement of special crops.

For example, the developed root systems of transformed plants are used to prevent wind and fix sand; pasture and green fodder are used to increase the total biomass in poor environments; special crops are used to improve soil quality and repair soil to adapt to harsher environments, etc.

Thinking about the safety of genetically modified organisms

Since this technology has broad application prospects, its future development direction is to be rapidly promoted. However, as a genetic modification technology, safety is an important prerequisite for its widespread application.

He Chuan's research group responded: "The transferred gene is the common FTO protein gene in humans. By editing the epigenetic modification of plant RNA, it opens up a pathway for high yield and high biomass in plants."

On the one hand, the exogenous genes transferred are genes originally present in the human body. On the other hand, the genes function in the process of RNA translating into proteins and theoretically do not directly participate in the synthesis of biomass.

At the same time, Professor He Chuan also emphasized that he hopes the country will introduce targeted approval standards to promote the implementation of this technology under the premise of safety regulations.

research team

The research was mainly carried out by Jia Guifang's research group at Peking University, He Chuan's research group at the University of Chicago, and Song Baoan's research group at Guizhou University.

In 2010, He Chuan first proposed "RNA epigenetics" and predicted the possible existence of reversible chemical modifications on RNA.

In 2011, Jia Guifang and other members of He Chuan's research group discovered the first m6A demethylation enzyme FTO, revealing for the first time the dynamic reversibility of RNA methylation modification and opening up a new direction of "RNA epigenetics".

Reference paper:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-021-00982-9

Reference link:
https://phys.org/news/2021-07-rna-breakthrough-crops-potatoes-rice.html