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Published Online July 26, 2001
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1062249

Reports

Submitted on May 3, 2001
Accepted on July 10, 2001

Resistance to an Herbivore Through Engineered Cyanogenic Glucoside Synthesis

David B. Tattersall 1, S{oslash}ren Bak 1, Patrik R. Jones 2, Carl Erik Olsen 3, Jens K. Nielsen 4, Mads L. Hansen 4, Peter B. H{oslash}j 5, Birger Lindberg M{oslash}ller 6*

1 Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Centre for Molecular Plant Physiology (PlaCe), The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, 40 Thorvaldsensvej, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
2 Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Centre for Molecular Plant Physiology (PlaCe), The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, 40 Thorvaldsensvej, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark; Department of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus PMB1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
3 Centre for Molecular Plant Physiology (PlaCe), Department of Chemistry, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, 40 Thorvaldsensvej, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
4 Department of Chemistry, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, 40 Thorvaldsensvej, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
5 Department of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus PMB1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia; The Australian Wine Research Institute, Post Office Box 197, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
6 Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Centre for Molecular Plant Physiology (PlaCe), The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, 40 Thorvaldsensvej, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: blm{at}kvl.dk.

The entire pathway for synthesis of the tyrosine derived cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin has been transferred from Sorghum bicolor to Arabidopsis thaliana. This documents that genetically engineered plants are able to synthesize and store large amounts of new natural products. The presence of dhurrin in the transgenic A. thaliana plants confers resistance to the flea beetle Phyllotreta nemorum, which is a natural pest of other members of the crucifer group, demonstrating the potential utility of cyanogenic glucosides in plant defense.


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