PJB-2019-450
Differential expression of pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase gene in relation to podophyllotoxin accumulation in different plant organs of endangered anticancer species Podophyllum peltatum
Dongxue Yin, Wei Liu, Yujuan Zhang and Xuyang Sun
Abstract
Pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase (PLR) is a key enzyme in podophyllotoxin (PTOX) biosynthesis pathway, which catalyzes the conversion of pinoresinol into secoisolariciresinol, a central precursor for the PTOX biosynthesis. Podophyllum peltatum is an important anticancer species, and PTOX content is obviously different from various plant organs. Therefore, investigation of PLR gene expression facilitates the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the variation of the PTOX content in different organs from P. peltatum as well as its biosynthesis mechanisms, suggesting that it is an important gene for metabolic engineering of the PTOX. The PTOX was found in all the test organs (root, rhizome, petiole, fruit, leaf and flower), with significant differences among them (p<0.05). The highest PTOX content (2.8018 ± 0.23%) was found in rhizome, which was 30 times higher than the lowest PTOX content in fruit. Furthermore, tissue expression profile showed that P. peltatum PLR (PpPLR) was expressed in all the test organs except for the flower. The highest and lowest expression level was found in rhizome and leaf, respectively. The expression profile of PpPLR was inconsistent with the PTOX content variation in the test organs except for the rhizome, suggesting that the PTOX biosynthetic organ is not necessarily its storage organ. After the initial synthesis, PTOX can be transferred to its storage organ, such as the rhizome.
To Cite this article:
Yin, D., W. Liu, Y. Zhang and X. Sun. 2021. Differential expression of pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase gene in relation to podophyllotoxin accumulation in different plant organs of endangered anticancer species Podophyllum peltatum. Pak. J. Bot., 53(4): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2021-4(11)
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