New breakthrough made in research on tobacco harm reduction and tar reduction technology

Recently, the tobacco functional genomics innovation team at the Tobacco Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences made new progress in research on expansin genes related to cell wall polysaccharide metabolism.

Tobacco is an important economic crop in China. Cell wall substances are the main components of tobacco leaves. The structure and composition of the cell wall determine the looseness of tobacco leaves and are closely related to the combustibility, harmfulness and smoking quality of tobacco leaves. How to improve the structure and composition of the tobacco leaf cell wall is one of the most fundamental and core aspects of improving tobacco leaf quality and reducing tobacco harm and tar. Expansins are a class of proteins that can cause plant cell walls to loosen. By breaking the hydrogen bonds between cellulose microfibrils or between cellulose and other cell wall polysaccharides, they make the structure of the cell wall become loose. (Agricultural Sciences)