%0 Journal Article
%T Modified fructan accumulation through overexpression of wheat fructan biosynthesis pathway fusion genes Ta1SST:Ta6SFT.
%A Chen T
%A Hayes M
%A Liu Z
%A Isenegger D
%A Mason J
%A Spangenberg G
%J BMC Plant Biol
%V 24
%N 1
%D 2024 Apr 30
%M 38689209
%F 5.26
%R 10.1186/s12870-024-05049-w
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Fructans are water-soluble carbohydrates that accumulate in wheat and are thought to contribute to a pool of stored carbon reserves used in grain filling and tolerance to abiotic stress.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>In this study, transgenic wheat plants were engineered to overexpress a fusion of two fructan biosynthesis pathway genes, wheat sucrose: sucrose 1-fructosyltransferase (Ta1SST) and wheat sucrose: fructan 6-fructosyltransferase (Ta6SFT), regulated by a wheat ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit (TaRbcS) gene promoter. We have shown that T4 generation transgene-homozygous single-copy events accumulated more fructan polymers in leaf, stem and grain when compared in the same tissues from transgene null lines. Under water-deficit (WD) conditions, transgenic wheat plants showed an increased accumulation of fructan polymers with a high degree of polymerisation (DP) when compared to non-transgenic plants. In wheat grain of a transgenic event, increased deposition of particular fructan polymers such as, DP4 was observed.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>This study demonstrated that the tissue-regulated expression of a gene fusion between Ta1SST and Ta6SFT resulted in modified fructan accumulation in transgenic wheat plants and was influenced by water-deficit stress conditions.