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has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Identification of a Highly Expressed 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Gene in the Root Tissue of Taraxacum kok-saghyz

  AUTHORS: Grisel Ponciano, Grace Q. Chen

  KEYWORDS: 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-CoA Reductase, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, Root, Gene Expression, Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction

  JOURNAL NAME: American Journal of Plant Sciences, Vol.5 No.24, November 28, 2014

  ABSTRACT: Kazakh dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz, Tk) is a rubber-producing plant currently being investigated as a source of natural rubber for industrial applications. Like many other isoprenoids, rubber is a downstream product of the mevalonate pathway. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) enzyme catalyzes the conversion of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA to mevalonic acid, a key regulatory step in the MVA pathway. Such regulated steps provide targets for increases in isoprenoid and rubber contents via genetic engineering to increase enzyme activities. In this study, we identify a TkHMGR1 gene that is highly expressed in the roots of Kazakh dandelion, the main tissue where rubber is synthesized and stored. This finding paves the way for further molecular and genetic studies of the TkHMGR1 gene, and its role in rubber biosynthesis in Tk and other rubber-producing plants.