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Application of virus-induced gene silencing in Andrographis paniculata, an economically important medicinal plant

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Abstract

Kalmegh [Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. ex Nees] is one of the most studied medicinal plants for pharmaceutical properties and phytochemistry. However, functional genomics studies in kalmegh are so far limited due to the unavailability of a robust tool for gene silencing. Here, we tested the application of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in kalmegh using the well-known Tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based vectors and achieved targeted silencing of phytoene desaturase (ApPDS) which is essential in plants for carotenoid biosynthesis that protects chlorophyll from photooxidation. ApPDS silencing in kalmegh leaves developed a typical photobleaching phenotype. The silencing of ApPDS was confirmed by analysing ApPDS transcript level and determining chlorophyll content in the leaves of VIGS seedlings. The analysis revealed ~30% reduction in chlorophyll content, and 40 to 60% reduction in ApPDS transcript level in the leaves of VIGS seedlings. These findings clearly demonstrated the applicability of VIGS in kalmegh using TRV-based vectors. The VIGS protocol presented in this study might be useful for studying gene function related to medicinal and agricultural traits in kalmegh.

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Fig. 1

Data Availability

Nucleotide sequence of ApPDS is deposited in the NCBI with accession No. KU516822. pTRV1 and pTRV2 vectors were obtained from ABRC, Ohio, USA.

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Acknowledgements

S.G received grant from the Indian National Science Academy (SP/YSP/126/2016/217). Authors gratefully acknowledge the research facility at CSIR-CIMAP and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Centre for pTRV1 and pTRV2 vectors. A.G., S.S. and P.S. acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology, University Grants Commission and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for fellowship. The institutional communication number for the article is CIMAP/PUB/2020/AUG/83

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Indian National Science Academy

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India

    Anchal Garg, Shubha Sharma, Payal Srivastava & Sumit Ghosh

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Shubha Sharma, Payal Srivastava & Sumit Ghosh

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  1. Anchal Garg
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  2. Shubha Sharma
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  3. Payal Srivastava
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  4. Sumit Ghosh
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AG, SS and PS performed the experiments; AG and SG analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sumit Ghosh.

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Garg, A., Sharma, S., Srivastava, P. et al. Application of virus-induced gene silencing in Andrographis paniculata, an economically important medicinal plant. Protoplasma 258, 1155–1162 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-021-01631-3

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