Efficacy of synthetic merB gene as selection marker

Abstract

In this arena of inevitable climate change, the world is presently focusing its attention to Gene Revolution as a vital strategy for food subsistence, medicine and environmental protection. Having a key role to play in agriculture, medicine and environment, the plant transgenic industry is expected to have a gigantic positive impact on human welfare. According to Nobel Laureate Professor Norman Borlaug, father of green revolution, genetic engineering of crops is an inevitable component of Modern Agriculture for food security of escalating human population. Genetic engineering in agriculture has often been referred to as second green revolution. One of the key limitations of transgenic technology has been the need of ecologically viable selection marker systems that can instill public confidence in transgenic plants. The present investigations were aimed to evaluate potency of a synthetic gene for organomercury lyase designated as the merBps gene to (i) effectively express in model plant, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var. Petit Havana); (ii) act as a positive conditional marker gene with phenyl mercury acetate (PMA) as selection agent in comparison with the nptII gene/kanamycin selection system. Efforts were also made to evaluate feasibility of using the merBps gene/PMA as an ecologically viable and simple selection marker system as an alternate to the prevailing most prominently used marker systems which are believed to have negative impact on health of humanbeing and ecosystem. Brief account of salient findings and goals achieved during the course of present investigations along with likely impact of novel the merBps gene/PMA selection system are highlighted below. A distinct variation noted in codon usage amongst different living systems, viz. plants, animals and microorganisms, has been established to act as a significant barrier for heterologous gene expression. Rarely employed codons in the candidate gene may lead to poor translation, decreased mRNA stability and premature termination of translation