Chinese scientists engineer rice and wheat to produce CoQ10 for better nutrition

Chinese scientists have increased the nutritional value of rice (Oryza sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), using gene editing to enable the production of coenzyme Q (CoQ10). The chemical is among the most consumed nutritional supplements for heart health or migraines. The study says the technology opens ways for more dietary sources of the antioxidant to benefit health.

The Coq1 enzyme controls whether a plant makes CoQ9 or CoQ10. However, the exact molecular basis of this specificity has remained unclear until now. The research team identified specific mutations in Coq1 that would enable the rice and wheat to produce CoQ10 instead of CoQ9 for better nutrition. 

An ancient but important function

The authors explain why CoQ10 is important for human health: “CoQ, also known as ubiquinone, is an electron transporter in the oxidative respiratory chain that generates adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in mitochondria. It also acts as an antioxidant in numerous cellular processes.”

In supplements, its role as an antioxidant is a major driver for CoQ10 use.

“Consequently, deficiencies in CoQ are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, myopathy, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. Humans can synthesize CoQ10, but genetic factors, aging, and statin treatment reduce its level in the body,” the authors continue.

The researchers found CoQ forms in 134 species across land plants and analyzed Coq1 homologs in over 1,000 plant species. CoQ10 production was found to be an ancestral trait of flowering plants that remain dominant in most sublineages. However, CoQ9 production came about independently, especially in herbaceous families.

They found a connection between rice and wheat plants and the earliest flowering plants, which evolved and diversified into the Poaceae (grasses), Asteraceae (daisy family), and Cucurbitaceae (gourd family).

CoQ10 production was once standard in flowering plants — scientists have now revived this trait in rice and wheat using gene editing.Enhancing the nutritional value of the three families would significantly impact human health and daily life, as they are the sources of numerous popular and extensively grown food, oil, and vegetable crops, the study, published in Cell, claims.

Genome editing for better nutrition 

For plants, CoQ is essential for embryo development and seed production. The study authors underscore that genome editing offers an advanced technology to improve crop traits by altering targeted gene function. 

“To design plant CoQ forms, it is important to understand the catalytic mechanisms of the Coq1s from different plant species responsible for the subtle differences in product chain lengths and the key amino acids involved,” they write. 

“The advent of genome-editing technology is reshaping the breeding programs for crop improvement, and this includes efforts to enhance the nutritional value of agricultural products. Comprehensive data analysis is the key to success. In the present case, extensive study of the natural variations of the Coq1 gene in plants has not only shed light on factors associated with the radiation and proliferation of herbaceous plants on earth but also has highlighted the value that insight into plant evolutionary history can bring to crop improvement.”

Boosting plant nutrition

In other crop science advances, India launched a national XRF Testing Access Portal to advance food and nutrition security by enabling rapid, cost-effective micronutrient analysis of staple foods such as rice and wheat.

A team of researchers at Chiba University, Japan, created a simple cell-based reporter tool to detect epigenetic alterations caused by environmental chemicals. Unlike traditional methods that rely on costly sequencing, this new cost-effective “epi-TK” assay evaluates gene expression changes by tracking methylation and acetylation at a key gene site.

Meanwhile, scientists tapped into CRISPR gene-editing techniques to enhance the nutritional value of lettuce. They have boosted β-carotene (provitamin A) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content in the crop by 2.7 times and 6.9 times, respectively, besides raising zeaxanthin to “levels not typically found in lettuce.”