D. Tattersall, S. Bak, Patrik R. Jones
Sep 7, 2001
Citations
6
Influential Citations
295
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Science
Abstract
The entire pathway for synthesis of the tyrosine-derived cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin has been transferred from Sorghum bicolorto Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we document that genetically engineered plants are able to synthesize and store large amounts of new natural products. The presence of dhurrin in the transgenicA. thaliana plants confers resistance to the flea beetlePhyllotreta nemorum, which is a natural pest of other members of the crucifer group, demonstrating the potential utility of cyanogenic glucosides in plant defense.