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Ectopic expression of the Osmyb4 rice gene enhances synthesis of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in tobacco and clary sage

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:
Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

In this work, we report the ectopic expression of the Osmyb4 rice gene, encoding the Myb4 transcription factor, in Nicotiana tabacum and Salvia sclarea. Transcriptional analysis of T2 homozygous tobacco plants overexpressing Osmyb4 revealed that Myb4 activated the transcription of several genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway such as PAL, C4H, 4CL1, 4CL2 (encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase, 4-coumarate: Co A ligase1, 4-coumarate: Co A ligase2). Moreover, the Myb4 increased expression of HQT encoding hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA: quinate transferase, which specifically triggers the accumulation of chlorogenic acid (CGA). In addition, increased acccumulation of rosmarinic acid (RA) was found in transgenic plants of both species. These results open the possibility of using the Osmyb4 gene to increase the production of specific bioactive hydroxycinnamates.

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Abbreviations

4CL:

4-coumarate:CoA ligase

CGA:

chlorogenic acid

C4H:

cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase

EPSPS:

5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase

EV:

empty vector

HPLC-DAD:

high performance liquid chromatography — with diode array detection

HQT:

hydroxycinnamoyl CoA quinate transferase

PAL:

phenylalanine ammonia lyase

RA:

rosmarinic acid

RAS:

RA synthase

RT-PCR:

reverse transcription — polymerase chain reaction

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologie Agrarie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano, I-20133, Italia

    T. Docimo & M. Mattana

  2. Facoltà di Farmacia, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, I-84084, Italia

    R. Fasano, N. de Tommasi & A. Leone

  3. Istituto per lo Studio delle Macromolecole, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano, I-20133, Italia

    R. Consonni

Authors
  1. T. Docimo
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  2. M. Mattana
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  3. R. Fasano
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  4. R. Consonni
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  5. N. de Tommasi
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  6. I. Coraggio
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  7. A. Leone
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Docimo.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the MIUR-PRIN Project 2005 “Metabolic engineering of bioactive secondary metabolites in Nicotiana tabacum and Salvia sclarea” to A.L.

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Docimo, T., Mattana, M., Fasano, R. et al. Ectopic expression of the Osmyb4 rice gene enhances synthesis of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in tobacco and clary sage. Biol Plant 57, 179–183 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0257-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0257-1

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