A. Norozi, B. Hosseini, M. Jafari
Jun 8, 2018
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Influential Citations
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Journal
Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology
Abstract
Abstract Hyoscyamine (Hyos) and scopolamine (SCP) are drugs widely used as antimuscarinic to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s or to calm schizoid patients. In this study, with the aim of enhancing tropane alkaloid production in H. reticulatus hairy root cultures, the effects of the signalling molecule acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) were investigated at different concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mM) and inoculation times (24 and 48 h). As well as reducing biomass production, ASA treatment significantly enhanced the activity of catalase, guaiacol peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase (p < 0.01), which was highest at 48 h of exposure to 1 mM of ASA. The highest accumulation of Hyos and SCP (1.6- and 3.5-fold more than in the control, respectively) was obtained at 24 h of exposure to 0.1 mM ASA. Additionally, semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed an increased expression of the hyoscyamine-6-beta-hydroxylase (h6h) gene, involved in the last Hyos and SCP biosynthetic step, which correlated with the enhanced level of Hyos and SCP production under ASA elicitation. Our findings suggest that ASA, by stimulating the expression of key biosynthetic genes and enzymes, can be applied to increase commercial tropane alkaloid production in a H. reticulatus hairy root system. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT