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Showing 2 results for Secondary Metabolite
Rizan Elyasi, Mohammad Majdi, Abdolbaset Azizi,
Volume 8, Issue 2 (3-2022)
Abstract
Black cumin (Nigella sativa) is a medicinal plant of the Ranunculacea family which raised attention due to its pharmaceutical properties. Medical significance of N. sativa mainly attributed to its oxygenated monoterpenes which are biosynthesized via the methyl erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway located in plastids. In this study, the essential oil components of leaves, flowers, and developmental stages of seed including half black seeds, soft black seeds, and hard black seeds were analyzed in N. sativa. Whereas no terpene was detected in flowers and leaves, seeds were found to be the major site of biosynthesis and accumulation of terpenes, and the amount of terpene compounds changed during seed maturation. The essential oil consists of monoterpenes (more than 99%) and sesquiterpenes (less than 1%). In order to improve our understanding of monoterpene metabolism, the partial sequence of a hypothetical monoterpene synthase (NsTPS2) was isolated from N. sativa plant using RACE-PCR technique. This monoterpene synthase was identified from RNA sequencing data from soft black seeds. Except of the highly conserved DDXXD motif in NsTPS2 which is necessary to validate monoterpene synthases, no other conserved regions of other identified monoterpene synthases were observed. Dendrogram analysis revealed that NsTPS2 had the highest homology with a terpene synthase (72.89%) from Aconitum carmichaelii and these two sequences were grouped in the same group. Nigella sativa and Aconitum carmichaelii both belong to the Ranunculacea family. This indicates that the genetic information of plants of the Ranunculacea family can be used to isolate different monoterpene synthase. The results of this research can be useful in genetic manipulation and metabolic engineering of Nigella sativa.
Forough Joudaki, Ahmad Ismaili, Seyed Sajad Sohrabi, Seyedeh Zahra Hosseini, Hadi Ahmadi,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (2-2024)
Abstract
Gall oak (Quercus infectoria) is one of the extraordinary tree species with functional medicinal properties within the oak family. Various studies have confirmed the presence of numerous secondary metabolites with therapeutic properties in this plant. Despite the significance of gall oak, its genetic structure remains elusive. Therefore, unraveling the genetic structure of gall ok may provide valuable insights into its potential applications across diverse industries. MicroRNAs emerge as pivotal genetic elements implicated in the biosynthesis of crucial metabolites across a wide range of different plant species. Despite the significant role of miRNAs in plants, as of yet, no miRNAs have been reported in Q. infectoria.. Therefore, in the present study, after assembling the transcriptome of Q. infectoria, the conserved microRNAs were identified. Leaf and root samples of Q. infectoria were collected from trees in the Shineh region, and 2-year-old seedlings were grown from mature oaks in Khorramabad (Lorestan Province, Iran). Total RNA was extracted from roots and leaves using the Djami-Tchatchou method. After sequencing by the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform and checking the quality of all the generated reads, the adapter sequences were removed, and the high-quality reads were assembled using Trinity package. To identify miRNAs and their target genes, all plant miRNAs sequences were downloaded from the miRbase database. The BLASTn algorithm was employed to identify the highest similarity between unigenes and mature plant miRNAs. Furthermore, BLASTx was used to search against the non-redundant proteins (NR) database to remove protein-coding unigenes. The investigation of miRNA second-structure prediction involved assessing the similarity between potential unigenes and mature miRNA sequences using the mfold web tool. Identification of miRNA target genes and gene ontology (GO) was performed using the psRNAtarget web-tool and OmicsBox software, respectively. Following a range of strict filtering criteria, four miRNAs belonging to conserved miRNAs families were identified, including qin-miR156, qin-miR399, qin-miR160, and qin-miR172. KEGG pathway analysis showed the target genes were involved in the citrate cycle pathway. Examining miRNA target genes in Q. infectoria and analyzing their interaction network, finally led to the identification of three hub genes. Identified miRNA target genes were associated with the biosynthesis of various enzyme groups, suggesting that most of miRNAs regulating hydrolases, transferases, and oxidoreductases. Given the role of microRNAs in regulating transcription factors and their impact on genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, future breeding programs in Q. infectoria may benefit from the potential of such regulatory elements as a guide and key.
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