Metabolic engineering of coenzyme Q by modification of isoprenoid side chain in plant

Abstract

Coenzyme Q (CoQ), an electron transfer molecule in the respiratory chain and a lipid-soluble antioxidant, is present in almost all organisms. Most cereal crops produce CoQ9, which has nine isoprene units. CoQ10, with 10 isoprene units, is a very popular food supplement. Here, we report the genetic engineering of rice to produce CoQ10 using the gene for decaprenyl diphosphate synthase (DdsA). The production of CoQ9 was almost completely replaced with that of CoQ10, despite the presence of endogenous CoQ9 synthesis. DdsA designed to express at the mitochondria increased accumulation of total CoQ amount in seeds.