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Seaweed extract as a novel elicitor and medium for mass propagation and picroside-I production in an endangered medicinal herb Picrorhiza kurroa

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Abstract

Picrorhiza kurroa is an endangered medicinal herb, used in the preparation of herbal drugs, mainly due to the presence of two iridoid glycosides, picroside-I (P-I) and picroside-II (P-II). Its over exploitation necessitates the development of conservation strategies and enhanced production of secondary metabolites. In present study, effect of seaweed extract (SWE) with and without growth hormones was studied for in vitro propagation and production of P-I in P. kurroa. Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with SWE (MSS) showed 3.23, 1.55, 2.42, 2.52 and 2.41 folds enhancement in total plant biomass, total plant length, number of shoots, root length and number of roots, respectively after 1 month as compared to control C1(MS + sucrose + agar). MSS with growth hormones showed increment of 1.92, 1.14, 1.47, 1.43 and 3.53 folds in total plant biomass, total plant length, number of shoots, root length and number of roots, respectively as compared to control CM (MS + sucrose + growth hormones + agar) after 1 month. SWE media (SWM) showed comparable results and proved to be an economic alternative to MS media. Both MSS and SWM increased P-I accumulation by 3–4 folds and 2–3 folds at 25 ± 2 and 15 ± 2 °C, respectively. Expression of 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, key enzymes of non-mevalonate and mevalonate pathways were up regulated vis-á-vis metabolite content. This is the first report demonstrating the potential of SWE as an elicitor for enhanced growth and P-I production besides being an alternative to MS media for large scale micropropagation of P. kurroa.

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Abbreviations

P-I:

Picroside I

SWE:

Seaweed extract

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

IBA:

Indole-3-butyric acid

KN:

Kinetin

SWM:

SWE media

MSS:

MS media supplemented with SWE

CM:

Control medium

DXPS:

1-Deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase

HMGR:

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase

MEP:

Non-mevalonate

MVA:

Mevalonate

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Jaypee University of Information Technology for providing the necessary research facilities and Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for providing research grant in the form of a programme support on high value medicinal plants to RSC and HS. We are also thankful to the Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), Manali, India for providing plant material of P. kurroa. The authors also gratefully acknowledge Sea6 Energy Pvt Ltd. for providing the seaweed extract powder.

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Solan, 173234, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Neha Sharma, Rajinder Singh Chauhan & Hemant Sood

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  1. Neha Sharma
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  2. Rajinder Singh Chauhan
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  3. Hemant Sood
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Correspondence to Hemant Sood.

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Sharma, N., Chauhan, R.S. & Sood, H. Seaweed extract as a novel elicitor and medium for mass propagation and picroside-I production in an endangered medicinal herb Picrorhiza kurroa . Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 122, 57–65 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-015-0749-8

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