title: Putative genes involved in saikosaponin biosynthesis in Bupleurum species.
abstract: Alternative medicinal agents, such as the herb Bupleurum, are increasingly used in modern medicine to supplement synthetic drugs. First, we present a review of the currently known effects of triterpene saponins-saikosaponins of Bupleurum species. The putative biosynthetic pathway of saikosaponins in Bupleurum species is summarized, followed by discussions on identification and characterization of genes involved in the biosynthesis of saikosaponins. The purpose is to provide a brief review of gene extraction, functional characterization of isolated genes and assessment of expression patterns of genes encoding enzymes in the process of saikosaponin production in Bupleurum species, mainly B. kaoi. We focus on the effects of MeJA on saikosaponin production, transcription patterns of genes involved in biosynthesis and on functional depiction.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology & Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, No. 101, Sec. 2, Kuang Fu Rd., Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan. tylin@life.nthu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Tsai-Yun
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chung-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chiou
authors.forename: Shu-Jiau
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chiou
mesh_terms: D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics*; D029972:Bupleurum / Q000235:genetics*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D009828:Oleanolic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D012503:Saponins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012503:Saponins; D009828:Oleanolic Acid; C025759:saikosaponin D