Expression sequences of opine synthase genes in natural GMOs based on analysis of their transcriptomes

Abstract

Agrobacterium is a natural genetic material delivery system that humans use to produce genetically modified plants (GMO). In nature, GMOs also occur with the participation of agrobacteria. In 2019, the list of known natural GMOs was expanded by an order of magnitude, and facts were found in favor of the expression of agrobacterial genes in natural GMOs. The frequency of this phenomenon for dicotyledon plants has been estimated at 7 percent. Opine synthase genes turned out to be the predominant ones of agrobacterial origin in natural GMOs. They probably perform important functions in natural GMOs. In 2021, an article was published with an updated list of natural GMOs, but the list of genes expressed in natural GMOs has not been updated since 2019. The aim of this work is to update the list of opine synthase genes expressed in natural GMOs. The research methods included bioinformatic search using queries based on the sequences of opine synthase proteins from Agrobacterium rhizogenes, A.tumefaciens and A. vitis, their homologues from Ipomoea and Nicotiana plants, in the TSA database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using the TBLASTN algorithm with default settings. The study resulted in the addition of another 18 species to the list of natural GMOs with expressed opine synthase genes, 12 of which belong to genera where natural GMOs were not previously described (Albizia, Cenostigma, Averrhoa, Gynostemma, Eurycoma, Gypsophila, Myosoton, Camptotheca, Gustavia, Eschweilera, Cestrum, Jasminum, and Paulownia). An analysis of the diversity of the detected sequences showed that homologues of cucumopine and mikimopine synthase predominate among them. The end products of these genes are optical isomers. In the future, it makes sense to start studying the functions of opine synthases in plants from these genes.