Articles
ALLERGEN EXPRESSION IN CONTROL AND TRANSGENIC APPLE PLANTS
Article number
929_19
Pages
135 – 142
Language
English
Abstract
Genetic transformation of fruit tree species is a promising tool to improve one specific trait of a cultivar without changing its overall characteristics.
However, Genetically Modified (GM) foods are not accepted worldwide; in Europe there is persistent suspicion of GM crops, and supermarkets often display the label GM-free. One of the main health safety concerns about GM foods relates to allergenicity.
Fruits of the Rosaceae family, mainly apples, are reported as the plant food most frequently involved in allergic reactions.
To date four major families of apple allergens are reported, i.e., Mal d 1, Mal d 2, Mal d 3 and Mal d 4, each including several genes called also isoforms. Mal d 1, -2 and -3 are also known as pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, while Mal d 4 is classified as profilin with a putative actin-binding role.
Within the European ISAFRUIT project the potential risk of increased allergenicity in GM plants was investigated through the study of allergen genes expression in HcrVf2 transgenic scab resistant lines, in comparison with the isogenic cultivar and a classically bred cultivar with the same resistance gene.
However, Genetically Modified (GM) foods are not accepted worldwide; in Europe there is persistent suspicion of GM crops, and supermarkets often display the label GM-free. One of the main health safety concerns about GM foods relates to allergenicity.
Fruits of the Rosaceae family, mainly apples, are reported as the plant food most frequently involved in allergic reactions.
To date four major families of apple allergens are reported, i.e., Mal d 1, Mal d 2, Mal d 3 and Mal d 4, each including several genes called also isoforms. Mal d 1, -2 and -3 are also known as pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, while Mal d 4 is classified as profilin with a putative actin-binding role.
Within the European ISAFRUIT project the potential risk of increased allergenicity in GM plants was investigated through the study of allergen genes expression in HcrVf2 transgenic scab resistant lines, in comparison with the isogenic cultivar and a classically bred cultivar with the same resistance gene.
Authors
R. Paris, G. Pagliarani, S. Tartarini , S. Sansavini, C. Gessler, E. van de Weg
Keywords
Malus × domestica, qRT PCR, HcrVf2, Mal d genes, PR proteins, resistance
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