Expression of gamma-tocopherol methyltransferase transgene improves tocopherol composition in lettuce (Latuca sativa L.).

A cDNA encoding gamma-tocopherol methyltransferase (gamma-TMT) from Arabidopsis thaliana was overexpressed in lettuce (Latuca sativa L.) to improve the tocopherol composition. Seven lines of lettuce (T0) containing the gamma-TMT transgene were produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The inheritance and expression of the transgene were confirmed by DNA and RNA gel blot analyses as well as quantification of tocopherols and gamma-TMT activities. The ratio of alpha-/gamma-tocopherol content (TR) varied from 0.6 to 1.2 in non-transformed plants, while the T0 plants had ratios of 0.8 to 320. The ratio ranged from 0.4 to 544 in 41 T1 progenies of the T0 transgenic line gTM3, and the phenotypic segregation indicated monogenic inheritance of the transgene (i.e., 3:1 = dominant:wild-type classes). There was a tight relationship between the TR phenotype and gamma-TMT activity, and enzyme activities were affected by the copy number and transcript levels of the transgene. The TR phenotype was stably expressed in T2 progenies of T1 plants. The results from this study indicated that a stable inheritance and expression of Arabidopsis gamma-TMT transgene in lettuce results in a higher enzyme activity and the conversion of the gamma-tocopherol pool to alpha-tocopherol in transgenic lettuce.