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Agriculture Commons

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Agronomy and Crop Sciences

University of Kentucky

2016

Metabolic Networks and Pathways

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Agriculture

Expression Of A Constitutively Active Nitrate Reductase Variant In Tobacco Reduces Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Accumulation In Cured Leaves And Cigarette Smoke, Jianli Lu, Leichen Zhang, Ramsey S. Lewis, Lucien Bovet, Simon Goepfert, Anne M. Jack, James D. Crutchfield, Huihua Ji, Ralph E. Dewey Jun 2016

Expression Of A Constitutively Active Nitrate Reductase Variant In Tobacco Reduces Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Accumulation In Cured Leaves And Cigarette Smoke, Jianli Lu, Leichen Zhang, Ramsey S. Lewis, Lucien Bovet, Simon Goepfert, Anne M. Jack, James D. Crutchfield, Huihua Ji, Ralph E. Dewey

Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Faculty Publications

Burley tobaccos (Nicotiana tabacum) display a nitrogen-use-deficiency phenotype that is associated with the accumulation of high levels of nitrate within the leaf, a trait correlated with production of a class of compounds referred to as tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Two TSNA species, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), have been shown to be strong carcinogens in numerous animal studies. We investigated the potential of molecular genetic strategies to lower nitrate levels in burley tobaccos by overexpressing genes encoding key enzymes of the nitrogen-assimilation pathway. Of the various constructs tested, only the expression of a constitutively active nitrate reductase (NR) …