Fructose is a sweetener used in many food products, primarily as a substitute for sucrose. The main reason for its rising popularity with the food manufacturers is the availability of large quantities of corn starch, which can be enzymatically converted to fructose on an industrial scale.
An alternative and a cheap source of fructose production could be fructans, the storage carbohydrates in many plants. Fructans are multiple fructose polymers, which can be enzymatically or chemically hydrolyzed to yield fructose.
Tobacco plants which are inserted with the gene of the bacterium bacillus subtilis levansucrase (SacB) are found to accumulate a stable amount of fructan similar to that produced by the microbe. The level of fructan accumulation in these transgenic tobacco plants is quite impressive and ranges between 3-8 percent of the total plant dry weight.
Transgenic tobacco plants may pave way for the production of low cost sugar from other crop plants.
The National Institute of Science and Media keeps a close eye on the recent advances made in the field of biotechnology and other life sciences.
The lead author, Joel Ball is a well established authority on biotechnology and has been at fore front of all the research and titles that have been published under the NISM name.
To know more about other NISM publications click here.
An alternative and a cheap source of fructose production could be fructans, the storage carbohydrates in many plants. Fructans are multiple fructose polymers, which can be enzymatically or chemically hydrolyzed to yield fructose.
Tobacco plants which are inserted with the gene of the bacterium bacillus subtilis levansucrase (SacB) are found to accumulate a stable amount of fructan similar to that produced by the microbe. The level of fructan accumulation in these transgenic tobacco plants is quite impressive and ranges between 3-8 percent of the total plant dry weight.
Transgenic tobacco plants may pave way for the production of low cost sugar from other crop plants.
The National Institute of Science and Media keeps a close eye on the recent advances made in the field of biotechnology and other life sciences.
The lead author, Joel Ball is a well established authority on biotechnology and has been at fore front of all the research and titles that have been published under the NISM name.
To know more about other NISM publications click here.
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