Metabolic engineering of diterpene synthesis in plants

甜菊糖是一种原产于巴拉圭的植物，其叶组织中产生高强度的甜味剂。这种天然产品的甜度可以达到糖的300倍，对于一个试图减少碳水化合物摄入量，同时转向更天然的社会来说，这是一个相当大的兴趣。用于人类基因组测序的相同工具已成功地应用于甜菊糖，以了解甜味剂生产的遗传和生化基础。现在，通过基因增强技术，这些发现将被用于将甜化合物添加到其他食品和药品生产中。

Summary of the ProposalStevia is a plant species native to the Paraguay that produces a high intensity sweetener in its leaf tissue.  This natural product can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar and is of considerable interest to a society trying to reduce carbohydrate intake and at the same time shift towards more  natural.  The same tools used to sequence the human genome were successfully applied to Stevia in a effort to  understand the genetic and biochemical basis of sweetener production.  Now, through genetic enhancement technologies, those discoveries are to be used to bring the sweet compounds to other foods and for the production of medicines.