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Pharmacognosy 2018 American Journal of Ethnomedicine
ISSN: 2348-9502 Page 26
April 16-17, 2018
Amsterdam, Netherlands
6th Edition of International Conference on
Pharmacognosy and
Medicinal Plants
Statement of the Problem: Phytoalexins are natural products
(NPs) produced by plants that are biosynthesized in response
to pathogen infection or abiotic stresses. Many phytoalexins
have potent medicinal activities and are desirable for use as
clinical therapeutics or as scaffolds for the semi-synthesis
thereof. Themajor problem is that phytoalexins are absent from
non-challenged plant tissues and may be present in challenged
plant tissues at relatively low amounts rendering commercial
production uneconomical. This is particularly problematic for
phytoalexins that cannot be synthesized.
Methodology: Chemical and pathogen treatments in
combination with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were used to
identify treatments and genes that can be used to enhance
the biosynthesis of the anticancer phytoalexin glyceollin in
soybean.
Findings: A combination of the inorganic heavy metal silver
nitrate (AgNO3) and the wall glucan elicitor (WGE) from the
pathogen Phytophthora sojae demonstrated an additive effect
on the elicitation of glyceollin in soybeans. The additive effect
was due to distinct elicitation mechanisms of AgNO3 and
WGE. Comparative transcriptome analyses by RNA-seq of
pathogen and abiotic stress-treated soybean tissues identified
three transcription factor (TF) genes that can enhance the
production of glyceollin when overexpressed in soybean hairy
roots. The TFs were of the WRKY, MYB, and NAC gene families.
Conclusion & Significance: Combined elicitor and gene
engineering approaches can successfully enhance the
biosynthesis of glyceollin phytoalexins in soybean. Our
transcription factor data suggests the potential existence of
a conserved regulatory network for phytoalexin regulation in
plants.
Recent Publications
1. Farrell KC, Jahan Md A and Kovinich N (2017) Distinct
mechanisms of biotic and chemical elicitors enable
additive elicitation of the anticancer phytoalexin
glyceollin i. Molecules 22:1261–1247.
2. Kovinich N, Kayanja G, Chanoca A, Otegui M and
Grotewold E (2015). Abiotic stresses induce different
localizations of anthocyanins in Arabidopsis. Plant
Signaling & Behavior 10(7): e1027850.
3. Kovinich N, Kayanja G, Chanoca A, Riedl K, Otegui
M, et al. (2014). Not all anthocyanins are born equal:
Distinct patterns induced by stress in Arabidopsis.
Planta. 240(5): 931–940.
4. Kovinich N, Saleem A, Arnason J T and Miki B (2012a)
Coloring genetically modified soybean grains with
anthocyanins by suppression of the proanthocyanidin
genes ANR1 and ANR2. Transgenic Research
21(4):757-71.
5. Kovinich N, Saleem A, Arnason J T and Miki B (2011a)
Combined analysis of transcriptome and metabolite
data reveals extensive differences between black and
brown nearly-isogenic soybean (Glycine max) seed
coats enabling the identification of pigment isogenes.
BMC Genomics 12:381
Biography
Nik Kovinich is an expert in Genetics of Plant Metabolism. He is a Begin-
ning Investigator at the West Virginia University since July 2015. His focus
is on understanding the genetic regulation of the biosynthesis of medicinal
natural products (NPs) in plants, enhancing NP bioproduction by genetic
engineering, and improving the bioactivities of NPs using semi-synthesis.
He teaches Genetics and Bioinformatics courses and had a major role in
establishing an Undergraduate Program in Genetics at the West Virginia
University.
Enhancing the regulation of phytoalexin biosynthesis in plants
Nik Kovinich
West Virginia University, USA
Nik Kovinich, Am J Ethnomed 2018, Volume 5
DOI: 10.21767/2348-9502-C1-005