IRON ACCUMULATION IN TOBACCO PLANTS EXPRESSING SOYBEAN FERRITIN GENE

High iron-content transgenic tobacco plants have been produced by tran sfer via Agrobacterium tumefaciens of soyabean ferritin cDNA under the control of a CaMV 35S promoter. Immunoblot analysis of protein from t ransgenic tobacco plants suggested mature ferritin subunits are produc ed by cleavage of transit peptides. The expressed ferritin was observe d in the tissues of leaves and stems. The maximal iron content of tran sformant leaves was approximately 30% higher than leaves from non-tran sformants. The increased iron content of each transformant was correla ted with increases in ferritin content. These results demonstrate the potential of breeding high iron content crops by introduction of the f erritin gene.