Metabolic redesign of vitamin E biosynthesis in plants for tocotrienol production and increased antioxidant content.

Tocotrienols are the primary form of vitamin E in seeds of most monocot plants, including cereals such as rice and wheat. As potent antioxidants, tocotrienols contribute to the nutritive value of cereal grains in human and livestock diets. cDNAs encoding homogentisic acid geranylgeranyl transferase (HGGT), which catalyzes the committed step of tocotrienol biosynthesis, were isolated from barley, wheat and rice seeds.

Biochemical and molecular characterization of a mutation that confers a decreased raffinosaccharide and phytic acid phenotype on soybean seeds.

A single, recessive mutation in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.), which confers a seed phenotype of increased inorganic phosphate, decreased phytic acid, and a decrease in total raffinosaccharides, has been previously disclosed (S.