Methyl Jasmonate Increases Isoflavone Production in Soybean Cell Cultures by Activating Structural Genes Involved in Isoflavonoid Biosynthesis.

Isoflavonoids are a class of biologically active natural products that accumulate in soybean ( Glycine max L.) seeds during development, play vital roles in plant defense, and act as phytoestrogens with important human health benefits. Plant cell suspension cultures represent an excellent source of biologically important secondary metabolites. We found that methyl jasmonate (MJ) treatment increased isoflavone production in soybean suspension cell cultures. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we examined the expression of structural genes ( CHS6, CHS7, CHI1, IFS1, IFS2, IFMaT, and HID) in the isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathways in soybean suspension cells under various abiotic stress conditions. MJ treatment had the most significant effect on gene expression and increased the production of three glycosidic isoflavones (daidzin, malonyldaidzin, and malonylgenistin), with the maximum total isoflavone production (∼10-fold increase) obtained on day 9 after MJ application. MJ treatment significantly increased total phenolic contents and upregulated isoflavonoid biosynthesis genes, shedding light on the underlying mechanism.

Plant synthetic GP4 and GP5 proteins from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus elicit immune responses in pigs.

MAIN CONCLUSION: We demonstrated successful overexpression of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV)-derived GP4D and GP5D antigenic proteins in Arabidopsis. Pigs immunized with transgenic plants expressing GP4D and GP5D proteins generated both humoral and cellular immune responses to PRRSV. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes PRRS, the most economically significant disease affecting the swine industry worldwide. However, current commercial PRRSV vaccines (killed virus or modified live vaccines) show poor efficacy and safety due to concerns such as reversion of virus to wild type and lack of cross protection. To overcome these problems, plants are considered a promising alternative to conventional platforms and as a vehicle for large-scale production of recombinant proteins. Here, we demonstrate successful production of recombinant protein vaccine by expressing codon-optimized and transmembrane-deleted recombinant glycoproteins (GP4D and GP5D) from PRRSV in planta. We generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing GP4D and GP5D proteins as candidate antigens. To examine immunogenicity, pigs were fed transgenic Arabidopsis leaves expressing the GP4D and GP5D antigens (three times at 2-week intervals) and then challenged with PRRSV at 6-week post-initial treatment. Immunized pigs showed significantly lower lung lesion scores and reduced viremia and viral loads in the lung than pigs fed Arabidopsis leaves expressing mYFP (control). Immunized pigs also had higher titers of PRRSV-specific antibodies and significantly higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-12). Furthermore, the numbers of IFN-γ+-producing cells were higher, and those of regulatory T cells were lower, in GP4D and GP5D immunized pigs than in control pigs. Thus, plant-derived GP4D and GP5D proteins provide an alternative platform for producing an effective subunit vaccine against PRRSV.

Enhanced production of resveratrol derivatives in tobacco plants by improving the metabolic flux of intermediates in the phenylpropanoid pathway.

The biosynthesis of flavonoids such as anthocyanin and stilbenes has attracted increasing attention because of their potential health benefits. Anthocyanins and stilbenes share common phenylpropanoid precursor pathways. We previously reported that the overexpression of sweetpotato IbMYB1a induced anthocyanin pigmentation in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants. In the present study, transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum SR1) plants (STS-OX and ROST-OX) expressing the RpSTS gene encoding stilbene synthase from rhubarb (Rheum palmatum L. cv. Jangyeop) and the RpSTS and VrROMT genes encoding resveratrol O-methyltransferase from frost grape (Vitis riparia) were generated under the control of 35S promoter. Phenotypic alterations in floral organs, such as a reduction in floral pigments and male sterility, were observed in STS-OX transgenic tobacco plants. However, we failed to obtain STS-OX and ROST-OX plants with high levels of resveratrol compounds. Therefore, to improve the production of resveratrol derivatives in plants, we cross-pollinated flowers of STS-OX or ROST-OX and IbMYB1a-OX transgenic lines (SM and RSM). Phenotypic changes in vegetative and reproductive development of SM and RSM plants were observed. Furthermore, by HPLC and LC-MS analyses, we found enhanced production of resveratrol derivatives such as piceid, piceid methyl ether, resveratrol methyl ether O-hexoside, and 5-methyl resveratrol-3,4'-O-ß-D-diglucopyranoside in SM and RSM cross-pollinated lines. Here, total contents of trans- and cis-piceids ranged from approximately 104-240 µg/g fresh weight in SM (F2). Collectively, we suggest that coexpression of RpSTS and IbMYB1a via cross-pollination can induce enhanced production of resveratrol compounds in plants by increasing metabolic flux into stilbenoid biosynthesis.

Metabolic engineering for resveratrol derivative biosynthesis in Escherichia coli.

We previously reported that the SbROMT3syn recombinant protein catalyzes the production of the methylated resveratrol derivatives pinostilbene and pterostilbene by methylating substrate resveratrol in recombinant E. coli. To further study the production of stilbene compounds in E. coli by the expression of enzymes involved in stilbene biosynthesis, we isolated three stilbene synthase (STS) genes from rhubarb, peanut, and grape as well as two resveratrol O-methyltransferase (ROMT) genes from grape and sorghum. The ability of RpSTS to produce resveratrol in recombinant E. coli was compared with other AhSTS and VrSTS genes. Out of three STS, only AhSTS was able to produce resveratrol from p-coumaric acid. Thus, to improve the solubility of RpSTS, VrROMT, and SbROMT3 in E. coli, we synthesized the RpSTS, VrROMT and SbROMT3 genes following codon-optimization and expressed one or both genes together with the cinnamate/4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase (CCL) gene from Streptomyces coelicolor. Our HPLC and LC-MS analyses showed that recombinant E. coli expressing both ScCCL and RpSTSsyn led to the production of resveratrol when p-coumaric acid was used as the precursor. In addition, incorporation of SbROMT3syn in recombinant E. coli cells produced resveratrol and its mono-methylated derivative, pinostilbene, as the major products from p-coumaric acid. However, very small amounts of pterostilbene were only detectable in the recombinant E. coli cells expressing the ScCCL, RpSTSsyn and SbROMT3syn genes. These results suggest that RpSTSsyn exhibits an enhanced enzyme activity to produce resveratrol and SbROMT3syn catalyzes the methylation of resveratrol to produce pinostilbene in E. coli cells.

Heterologous expression of IbMYB1a by different promoters exhibits different patterns of anthocyanin accumulation in tobacco.

We previously reported that the transient and stable expression of IbMYB1a produced anthocyanin pigmentation in tobacco leaves and transgenic Arabidopsis plants, respectively. To further determine the effects of different promoters on the expression of IbMYB1a and anthocyanin production, we generated and characterized stably transformed tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum SR1) plants expressing IbMYB1a under the control of three different promoters. We compared the differences in anthocyanin accumulation patterns and phenotypic features of the leaves of these transgenic tobacco plants during growth. Expression of IbMYB1a under the control of these three different promoters led to a remarkable variation in anthocyanin pigmentation in tobacco leaves. The anthocyanin contents of the leaves of the SPO-IbMYB1a-OX (SPO-M) line were higher than those of the SWPA2-IbMYB1a-OX (SPA-M) and 35S-IbMYB1a-OX (35S-M) lines. High levels of anthocyanin pigments negatively affected plant growth in the SPO-M lines, resulting delayed growth and, occasionally, a stunted phenotype. Furthermore, HPLC analysis revealed that transcriptional regulation of IbMYB1a led to the production of cyanidin-based anthocyanins in the tobacco plants. In addition, RT-PCR analysis revealed that IbMYB1a expression induced the up-regulation of several structural genes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway, including DFR and ANS. Differential expression levels of IbMYB1a under the control of different promoters were highly correlated with the expression levels of the structural genes, thereby affecting anthocyanin production levels. These results indicate that IbMYB1a positively controls the expression of multiple anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and anthocyanin accumulation in heterologous tobacco plants.

Production of pinostilbene compounds by the expression of resveratrol O-methyltransferase genes in Escherichia coli.

Resveratrol (3,4',5-trans-trihydroxystilbene) is a polyphenolic phytoalexin that belongs to a family of naturally occurring stilbenes. It has been reported that the health-promoting activities of certain methylated resveratrol derivatives are more effective than those of unmodified resveratrol. In this study, we isolated two candidate genes with resveratrol O-methyltransferase (ROMT) activity from grape (Vitis riparia) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). To assess their ROMT activities in vivo, we synthesized VrROMT and SbROMT3 following codon-optimization and expressed the VrROMTsyn and SbROMT3syn genes using a dual expression vector system. Furthermore, we attempted to produce pterostilbene from resveratrol as a substrate by the expression of two putative ROMT proteins in Escherichia coli. Unexpectedly, expression of the SbROMT3syn gene in E. coli led to the production of mono-methylated stilbene (3,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-trans-stilbene, pinostilbene) from resveratrol compounds. However, a very small amount of di-methylated stilbene (3,5-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxy-trans-stilbene, pterostilbene) was also detected. Consistently, we found that in vitro methylation assays of resveratrol by recombinant SbROMT3syn produced pinostilbene as the major product besides a very small amount of pterostilbene. By contrast, very small amounts of methylated resveratrol derivatives were detected in E. coli expressing the VrROMTsyn protein. This suggests that the SbROMT3syn is more useful in the production of pinostilbene compounds than pterostilbene from resveratrol in E. coli.