Scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere , Kyoto University, Japan has succeeded in identifying key genes that are responsible for bringing nicotine produced in the roots to the leaves of tobacco plants. The team says that the new varieties of plants can be synthesized, which in turn would not have the gene and does not contain harmful substances.
According to the researchers, led by professor Kazufumi Yazaki, nicotine produced in the roots of plants, and then taken to the leaves by the gene Nt-JAT1 , and stored in the vacuole.
This is similar to the storage room, where water and other substances are stored. Nicotine stuck in there, and then inhaled when a person turn his cigarette. This gene discovery, "increases the chances for mengembangankan various tobacco without nicotine in its leaves," said Yazaki.
Together with colleagues from the University of Gent Belgium, the Japanese team has been analyzing gene samples in the laboratory, and incorporate Nt-JAT1 with natural substances, and take it out of the tobacco plant. By knowing its properties, genetic engineers can easily get rid of the nicotine out of tanama.
genes can also bring a compound that can be used as medicine., "Nobukazu Shitan, who is an assistant professor at the Institute, told AFP that the lack of nicotine in cigarettes will also provide benefits to passive smoking, which is not exposed to the harmful effects of nicotine will be again, when he was around others who actively smoked.
