Large-scale approach reveals imperfect actor in plant biotechnology
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
(Nov. 27) - A research team led by Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research has harnessed metabolomic technologies to unravel the molecular activities of a key protein that can enable plants to withstand a common herbicide. As he and his colleagues searched for an explanation, they narrowed in on the source: an enzyme, called BAR, that was engineered into the plants as a kind of chemical beacon, enabling scientists to more readily study them. But BAR is more than just a tool for scientists. That explains why they can detect the unintended products (acetyl-tryptophan and acetyl-aminoadipate) in crops genetically engineered to carry BAR, such as soybeans and canola. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA 2.