Publications

Complete plastid genome sequence of Daucus carota: implications for biotechnology and phylogeny of angiosperms

Ruhlman T, Lee SB, Jansen RK, Hostetler JB, Tallon LJ, Town CD, Daniell H

PMID: 16945140

Abstract

Carrot (Daucus carota) is a major food crop in the US and worldwide. Its capacity for storage and its lifecycle as a biennial make it an attractive species for the introduction of foreign genes, especially for oral delivery of vaccines and other therapeutic proteins. Until recently efforts to express recombinant proteins in carrot have had limited success in terms of protein accumulation in the edible tap roots. Plastid genetic engineering offers the potential to overcome this limitation, as demonstrated by the accumulation of BADH in chromoplasts of carrot taproots to confer exceedingly high levels of salt resistance. The complete plastid genome of carrot provides essential information required for genetic engineering. Additionally, the sequence data add to the rapidly growing database of plastid genomes for assessing phylogenetic relationships among angiosperms.