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Medicinal Plants - Recent Advances in Research and Development pp 191–214Cite as

Metabolic Engineering: Achieving New Insights to Ameliorate Metabolic Profiles in Withania somnifera

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Abstract

Withania somnifera, commonly known as Indian ginseng, has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic system of medicine for its antitumor, antioxidant, antiaging, antiserotogenic, and antistress activities. The various medicinal properties of the plant are accredited to the steroidal lactones (withanolides) present in the plant. Withanolides are synthesized by diverting the metabolite flux away from the isoprenoid pathway by the reductive condensation of farnesyl diphosphate to squalene through the activity of the enzyme squalene synthase. This enzyme squalene synthase is a major branch point involved in the regulation of withanolides. Owing to low concentrations of these bioactive compounds in plant, large biomass is utilized for the preparation of medicinal formulations in pharmaceutical industries to fulfill the growing commercial demand. To protect Withania spp. from becoming an endangered species, the activity of squalene synthase has been well exploited. This chapter is focused on the engineering of isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway in W. somnifera by the introduction of squalene synthase gene to improve the yield of desired product.

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Abbreviations

BAP:

6-Benzylaminopurine

bp:

Base pair

cDNA:

Complementary DNA

CoA:

Coenzyme A

CR:

Callus-like root

DMAPP:

3,3-Dimethylallyl pyrophosphate

EC:

Enzyme Commission

FPP:

Farnesyl pyrophosphate

GABA:

γ-Aminobutyric acid

GC:

Gas chromatography

GGPP:

Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate

GPP:

Geranyl pyrophosphate

GUS:

β-Glucuronidase

HMG:

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl

HR:

Hairy root

IBA:

Indole-3-butyric acid

IPP:

Isopentenyl-5-pyrophosphate

kDa:

Kilodalton

MEP:

2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate

Mg:

Magnesium

mRNA:

Messenger RNA

MS:

Mass spectrometry

MS media:

Murashige and Skoog media

MVA:

Mevalonic acid

NADPH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

PGR:

Plant growth regulators

PPi:

Inorganic phosphate

PSPP:

Presqualene diphosphate

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time PCR

SE:

Standard error

spp:

Species

SQS:

Squalene synthase

WsSQS:

Withania somnifera squalene synthase

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, and CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India, for the financial support. NP and PP acknowledge the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India, for providing Senior Research Fellowship and DSK Postdoctoral Fellowship, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

    Neha Patel

  2. Molecular Microbial Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, 390002, Gujarat, India

    Parth Patel

  3. Plant Tissue Culture Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, 411008, Maharashtra, India

    Bashir M. Khan

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  1. Neha Patel
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  2. Parth Patel
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  3. Bashir M. Khan
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Correspondence to Neha Patel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan

    Hsin-Sheng Tsay

  2. Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Taipei, Taiwan

    Lie-Fen Shyur

  3. Department of Applied Chemistry, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan

    Dinesh Chandra Agrawal

  4. School of Pharmacy and Chinese Herbal Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Yang-Chang Wu

  5. College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Forestry, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Sheng-Yang Wang

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Patel, N., Patel, P., Khan, B.M. (2016). Metabolic Engineering: Achieving New Insights to Ameliorate Metabolic Profiles in Withania somnifera . In: Tsay, HS., Shyur, LF., Agrawal, D., Wu, YC., Wang, SY. (eds) Medicinal Plants - Recent Advances in Research and Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1085-9_7

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