SILENCING THE SAM PATHWAY GENES RELATED TO CAFFEINE PRODUCTION IN TEA

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethyl xanthine), known to have sensory and stimulatory effects, causes adverse effects on health which has resulted in an increased demand for de-caffeinated tea. The transformants obtained by RNAi are being analysed for partial and complete knockdown of one or both the genes using RT-PCR and reduction in caffeine production estimated by HPLC.