title: Induction and potentiation of diterpenoid tanshinone accumulation in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots by beta-aminobutyric acid.
abstract: The non-protein amino acid beta-aminobutyric acid (BABA) is a proven inducer of plant defense against pathogens. This work examines its effect on the production of diterpenoid tanshinones in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy root cultures, both separately and in combination with a yeast elicitor (YE, the carbohydrate fraction of yeast extract). In the absence of YE, BABA at 0.1, 1 and 2 mM caused a dose-dependent enhancement of tanshinone accumulation, with up to a 4.5-fold increase (from 0.24 to 1.09 mg/g DW) in total content of three major tanshinones (cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I and tanshinone IIA) in the hairy roots. The combination of BABA with YE treatment further enhanced tanshinone production, but only when the BABA treatment was applied to the culture a few days before the YE treatment. Compared with methyl jasmonate, BABA was more effective in enhancing tanshinone production. A 3-day pretreatment with 1 mM BABA followed by YE-treatment, increased the total tanshinone content of roots by 9.4 times to 2.26 mg/g cells, and the volumetric tanshinone yield of culture by 6.3 times (from 3.2 to 20.1 mg/l). The results suggest that BABA can strongly potentiate elicitor-induced secondary metabolism in plant tissue cultures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Xiuchun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Jianyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D045784:Abietanes; D000613:Aminobutyrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004224:Diterpenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D045784:Abietanes; D000613:Aminobutyrates; D004224:Diterpenes; D010616:Phenanthrenes; C021751:tanshinone; C047667:3-aminobutyric acid; C037886:cryptotanshinone