The reporter learned from the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the team of Academician Chen Xiaoya of the center, and Gao Caixia's team from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc., have systematically analyzed the evolution trajectory of Coenzyme Q in terrestrial plants and the natural mutation of key enzymes, and analyzed the molecular mechanism of the control of side chain length of the plant Coenzyme Q. The guided editing technology was used to change the 5 amino acids of the Coq1 enzyme of the rice genome, and created a new rice germplasm that synthesizes Coenzyme Q10, and wheat editing has also made important progress. The results were published online in the international academic journal "Cell" on February 14, 2025, Beijing time.

△Scientific researchers observe new rice germplasm in the fields

Coenzyme Q10 is closely related to human health, especially heart health. It is an electron transporter of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and a fat-soluble antioxidant. Creating Coenzyme Q10 crops and increasing the content of Coenzyme Q10 in plant foods is a new cost-effective and environmentally friendly nutritional fortification method, which is of great significance. In this research work, researchers collected samples of 134 plant species from 67 families, including moss, pine, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms. The types and system distribution characteristics of Coenzyme Q in various species were detected, and it was found that Coenzyme Q10 was the ancestral trait of angiosperms, and most plants still synthesize Coenzyme Q10.

Combined with the evolutionary analysis and machine learning of the amino acid sequence of Coq1 of more than 1,000 terrestrial plant coenzyme Q side chain synthetase, the scientific research team finally determined the five amino acid sites that determine the chain length. Through precise editing, rice that mainly synthesizes Coenzyme Q10 was created. Coenzyme Q10 in its leaves and grains accounted for 75% of the total Coenzyme Q10, and the Coenzyme Q10 in the grains reached 5 μg/g, and had no effect on rice yield. The successful development of Q10 rice will greatly enrich the food sources of Coenzyme Q10 and also provide an example for big data and AI-assisted breeding.

(CCTV reporter Shuai Junquan Chu Erjia)