Improving production and quality of essential oil from aromatic plants by

genetic engineering
Project reference: FAIR983628
Funded under: FP4-FAIR

Improving production and quality of essential oil from aromatic plants by genetic
engineering
From 1998-04-01 to 2001-03-31

Project details
Total cost:

Topic(s):

EUR 644 180

1.2 - The "green" chemical and polymer chain

EU contribution:
Funding scheme:
EUR 549 844
CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinated in:
Greece

Objective
Plant secondary metabolites are extensively used as flavours, fragrances, pigments and medicines by the food and
pharmaceutical industries. Even with contemporary advances in synthetic organic chemistry, plants are the main source of
over 25X of all prescription medicines Availability and quality of raw material depend on climatic factors, sacristy of the
species, and geography of the area of plant growth which can sometimes include remote and politically unstable regions.
Clearly the cultivation of such species must be encouraged and this depends also on the existence of commercialy competitive
genotypes. Secondary metabolite accumulation in tissue or cell cultures of most plant species is usually orders of magnitude
lower than that in the intact plant. Transciptional inactivation of key regulatory genes of secondary metabolism has been
postulated to take place in cultured tissues.
As long as the mechanism of inactivation remains unknown significant progress in the field of biotechnology for in vitro
secondary metabolite production will be slow depending on accidental mutations resulting in overproducing somaclones. We
have chosen rose essential oil production as our model system because of the relative simplicity of the biosynthetic pathway,
the easy identification of the oil ingredients, and the commercial interest in this species. Rose oil contains monoterpenes used
extensively in the cosmetics industry. Their synthesis, as well as that of other secondary metabolites, is affected by biotic and
abiotic stresses. Potential second messengers, common to the signal transduction pathways of the various inducing
treatments, are free radicals, lipid peroxides, and their derivatives.
Measurable objective.
Objective 1: Improve rose essential oil yield by introducing overexpressed regulatory genes of terpenoid synthesis and by using
antisense technology to down-regulate genes of the free radical and peroxide scavenging system. Higher oil yield is expected if
availability of these signal transducing molecules is the limiting factor.
Pagegenes
1 of 2 of the monoterpene synthesis path. In a future step,
Objective 2: Identify trans-acting factors activating regulatory
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altered, constitutively transcribed forms of trans-acting factor genes could uncouple gene expression from normal signal
transduction path component requirements and result in unhindered terpenoid production in in vitro cultures as well as in
field~grown plants.
Complying with the objectives of the Agriculture ant Flsherles programme Workplan. Section 12.1 of the 'green' chemical ant
polymer chain subarea of area I of the Agriculture and Fisheries programme, covers proposals for genetically improving the
quality and content of plant speciality products, including volatile oils, and devising economical methods to ensure their
stability of supply and quality. Improved yield/quality, as well stable supply can be ensured by extensive cultivation of proper
genotypes as well as by successful in vitro production. Also, section 4.3.1 of area 4 deals with speciality products and asks for
the improvement of specific characteristics of aromatic plants. The proposal is relevant to both areas.

Coordinator
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania

Greece

Alsyllion Agrokepion
Chania, Greece
Administrative contact: Yannis GOUNARIS
Tel.: +30-28210-81152
Fax: +30-28210-81154
E-mail

Participants
Greentech SARL

France

Saint Beauzire, France

Administrative contact: Jean-Yves BERTHON
Tel.: +33-473644345
Fax: +33-473339132
E-mail
King's College London

United Kingdom

Strand
LONDON, United Kingdom
Administrative contact: Barry Victor CHARLWOOD
Tel.: +44-1713-334509
Fax: +44-1713334500
E-mail

Subjects
Biotechnology - Environmental Protection
Last updated on 1999-06-03
Retrieved on 2015-05-19
Permalink: http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/48143_en.html
European Union, 2015

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