Production of tailor‐made fructans in sugar beet by expression of onion fructosyltransferase genes
G. Weyens, Tita Ritsema, Kees van Dun, Diederick Meyer, M. Lommel, J. Lathouwers +10 more
Plant Biotechnology Journal
Abstract
The consumption of fructans as a low caloric food ingredient or dietary fibre is rapidly increasing due to health benefits. Presently, the most important fructan source is chicory, but these fructans have a simple linear structure and are prone to degradation. Additional sources of high-quality tailor-made fructans would provide novel opportunities for their use as food ingredients. Sugar beet is a highly productive crop that does not normally synthesize fructans. We have introduced specific onion fructosyltransferases into sugar beet. This resulted in an efficient conversion of sucrose into complex, onion-type fructans, without the loss of storage carbohydrate content.
Extracted Claims
2 claims extracted from this paper into the knowledge graph
onion fructosyltransferases introduced into sugar beet
“We have introduced specific onion fructosyltransferases into sugar beet.”
sucrose converted into complex, onion-type fructans
“This resulted in an efficient conversion of sucrose into complex, onion-type fructans, without the loss of storage carbohydrate content.”