Paclitaxel produced by various species of yew trees have been extensively used to treat tumors. Recently, plant metabolic engineering is getting a huge attention due to the potential producing beneficial metabolites. In our research, taxadiene synthas...
Paclitaxel produced by various species of yew trees have been extensively used to treat tumors. Recently, plant metabolic engineering is getting a huge attention due to the potential producing beneficial metabolites. In our research, taxadiene synthase (TS) gene from Taxus cuspidata Sieb. Et Zucc. was used to transform ginseng roots to produce to taxa-4(5)-11(12)-diene. TS gene was successfully introduced into the genome of ginseng roots, and taxadiene was identified the de novo formation. Without any changes in phenotypes or growth differences in the TS transgenic ginseng roots, the yield of taxadiene in the roots were 9.1㎍/g dry weight, or reached to 14.6 or 15.9㎍/g or dry weight by the treatment of methyl jasmonate for three or six days, respectively. These all data suggest that we transform ginseng root for the time to metabolically produce taxadiene, though the yields of taxadiene are not sufficient for commercial production. Korea- representative medicinal plant ginseng is not a proper candidate for taxadiene production due to low yield and slow growth, however, these experimental schemes can be applied for producing beneficial metabolites in ginseng roots.
Effect of various light wavelength and plant defense molecules were determined on the hardness and the contents of free amino acid including gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in germinating soybean sprouts. Germinating soybean seeds were treated with different wavelength of light (380nm, white-LED, 440nm or 660nm) by light emitting diodes (LED) at 25oC for six days. At the same time, soybean seeds were also treated either ethephon or H2O2 in dark at 25oC for six days. Germinated soybean seeds treated with white- LED (470nm) substantially raised the hardness of soybean sprouts, almost two times stronger than the control. The free amino acid contents were higher in white-LED and H2O2 treated soybean seeds than the control. Nutritionally beneficial GABA contents were high in ethephon, white-LED and H2O2 treated soybean seeds. These data suggest that the hardness and the contents of amino acids can be regulated by stimuli, which stimuli can be composed of various wavelength and plant defense molecules.