Biofortification of rice though CBM21 fusion proteins: A demonstration with a starch binding red fluorescent fusion protein
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Authors
Alexander, Joseph
Issue Date
2013
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
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Abstract
Rice is a major form of sustenance for over half of the world’s population. White rice is a
poor source of nutrients. Even though rice can be fortified using vitamin powders and other such
methods, these methods have had limited success because many vitamins are leeched away
during the washing process prior to cooking. The overall goal of the project is to create a
recombinant protein containing a starch binding domain fused with one of various nutrient
binding domains, such as vitamin B12 or thiamine. This fusion protein can attach nutrients to
rice grains and provide a way to fortify rice without losing the supplement during washing. A
protein consisting of a starch binding domain(cbm21) and a red fluorescent protein was used as a
proof of concept for the effectiveness of the starch-binding capabilities of the fusion proteins.
The results of this experiment show that the starch binding domain sticks to rice. Interestingly,
red fluorescent protein sticks to rice without the need for a starch binding domain, though rather
less effectively.
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In Copyright(All Rights Reserved)