Synthetic bxn Gene Utilization in the Resistance of Crops to the Herbicide Bromoxynil – A Review

Modern biotechnological systems refer to the application of biological methods for the production of new substances and manipulation of genetic materials of living organisms for the benefits of human future and commercial applications. Generation of herbicide resistant crops is a very important aspect of biotechnology utilization in plant genetic engineering by using genetic materials of another plant species or organisms to generate herbicide resistant transgenic crops. Nitrile group of herbicides is a large group of chemicals mostly inhibit photosynthesis in weeds and causes many loses in agricultural crops. The bromoxynil-specific nitrilase (bxn) gene was used widely in the production of crops resistant to the herbicide Bromoxynil. The gene was originally isolated from the soil bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. ozaenae and was successfully transformed into plant or appropriate crops of commercially interest. The encoded protein catabolizes 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile (Bromoxynil) to non-phytotoxic 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzoic acid. This review described the application of synthetic and codon-optimized bxn gene for the efficient transformation into plant resistance to Bromoxynil.