Phytase An Enzyme - An example of a promising enzyme produced in plants is provided by phytase. Phytase is encoded by ao gene from the fungus Aspergillus niger. It enhance phosphorus utilization by chickens from their feed to the extent that phosphate supplement in feed becomes unnecessary. Transgenic tobacco seeds expressing the gene encoding phytase were fed to broiler chickens for a period of 4 weeks.

This produced a gain in body weight that was comparable to those obtained with feed supplemented with phosphate or with A. niger phytase. This raises the feasibility of a direct use of proteins/enzymes (without purification) expressed in plants either as food/feed or for industrial applications.