Division of Plant Molecular Biology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 014 Kerala, India.
Mycorrhiza. 2012 Apr;22(3):195-202. doi: 10.1007/s00572-011-0394-y. Epub 2011 Jun 18.
Centella asiatica (Indian pennywort) has wide application in Indian and Chinese traditional medicines with documented evidence for wound healing and neuroprotective and anti-aging potential. Asiaticoside, a trisaccharide triterpene, is the most medicinally active compound in the plant. β-Amyrin synthase and squalene synthase have been identified as the two key genes in the triterpenoid pathway which regulate the production of asiaticoside in C. asiatica. The paper reports salient findings of our study utilizing the growth-promoting endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica to successfully colonize roots of C. asiatica in vitro cultures for investigating the effect of the mutualistic association on asiaticoside production. Co-cultivation of P. indica resulted in the rapid enhancement of root and shoot biomass of host plant, which was visible after 7 days of culture and continued up to 45 days. P. indica co-cultivation also favored the synthesis of asiaticosides, as evidenced by HPLC analysis which indicated about twofold increase (0.53% (w/w) in leaves and 0.23% (w/w) in whole plant) over control (0.33% (w/w) in leaves and 0.14% (w/w) in whole plant). Real-time PCR results confirmed the strong upregulation of squalene synthase and β-amyrin synthase transcripts in P. indica-challenged plants compared with the control. Our data demonstrate the potential use of P. indica as a means to enhance plant secondary metabolite production in planta with scope for further field evaluation.
积雪草(印度过路黄)在印度和中国传统医学中应用广泛,有记载表明其具有愈合伤口、神经保护和抗衰老的潜力。积雪草酸,一种三糖苷三萜,是该植物中最具药用活性的化合物。β-香树脂醇合酶和鲨烯合酶已被确定为三萜类化合物途径中的两个关键基因,它们调节积雪草酸在积雪草中的产生。本文报道了我们的研究结果,利用促生长内生真菌印度梨形孢成功地在体外培养的积雪草根系中定殖,以研究这种互惠共生关系对积雪草酸产生的影响。印度梨形孢的共培养导致宿主植物的根和茎生物量迅速增加,在培养 7 天后可见,持续到 45 天。印度梨形孢的共培养也有利于合成积雪草酸,高效液相色谱分析表明,与对照(叶片 0.33%(w/w),整株植物 0.14%(w/w))相比,叶片中的积雪草酸增加了约两倍(0.53%(w/w)),整株植物中的积雪草酸增加了约两倍(0.23%(w/w))。实时 PCR 结果证实,与对照相比,印度梨形孢胁迫植物中鲨烯合酶和β-香树脂醇合酶的转录水平强烈上调。我们的数据表明,印度梨形孢有可能作为一种在植物体内增强植物次生代谢产物生产的手段,具有进一步田间评估的潜力。