title: The regulatory mechanism of fungal elicitor-induced secondary metabolite biosynthesis in medical plants.
abstract: A wide range of external stress stimuli trigger plant cells to undergo complex network of reactions that ultimately lead to the synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. Throughout evolution, endophytic fungi, an important constituent in the environment of medicinal plants, have known to form long-term stable and mutually beneficial symbiosis with medicinal plants. The endophytic fungal elicitor can rapidly and specifically induce the expression of specific genes in medicinal plants which can result in the activation of a series of specific secondary metabolic pathways resulting in the significant accumulation of active ingredients. Here we summarize the progress made on the mechanisms of fungal elicitor including elicitor signal recognition, signal transduction, gene expression and activation of the key enzymes and its application. This review provides guidance on studies which may be conducted to promote the efficient synthesis and accumulation of active ingredients by the endogenous fungal elicitor in medicinal plant cells, and provides new ideas and methods of studying the regulation of secondary metabolism in medicinal plants.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Jian
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: b Department of Physiological Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences , Liverpool John Moores University , Liverpool , UK.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China.
authors.forename: Lu-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000378:metabolism*; D060026:Endophytes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D064210:Secondary Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products
keywords: Endophytic fungi; elicitor; gene expression; secondary metabolism; signal transduction