Secondary Metabolite Production in Transformed Cultures Stevioside Glycosides Production from Stevia rebaudiana Hairy Root Cultures Madhumita Kumari and Sheela Chandra Contents 1 Introduction................................................................................... 3 2 DistributionandLocalizationofDiterpeneGlycosidesinS.rebaudiana................... 5 3 BiosyntheticPathwayofSteviolGlycosides................................................. 6 3.1 CellularComponentsInvolvedinBiosynthesis....................................... 7 3.2 TransportofSteviolGlycosidestoVacuole........................................... 8 4 BiotechnologicalApproachestoImproveSteviosidesGlycosidesProduction usingInVitroCultures........................................................................ 8 5 BiotechnologicalApproachesInvolvingGeneticTransformationStudiesin S.rebaudiana................................................................................. 9 5.1 EstablishmentofHairyRootCulturesThroughInfectionwithAgrobacterium rhizogenesonAsepticExplantsofS.rebaudiana..................................... 9 5.2 SteviolGlycosidesProductioninHairyRootCulturesofS.rebaudiana............. 10 5.3 ExtractionandAnalysisofSteviosideGlycosidesThroughHPLC................... 10 5.4 StatisticalAnalysis..................................................................... 11 6 HairyRootInductionandSteviosideGlycosideProduction................................ 11 7 EffectofDifferentConditionsonHairyRootsgrowthandSecondaryMetabolites Production.................................................................................... 12 7.1 EffectofMurashigeandSkoog(MS)andGamborg’sB5MediaonBiomass andSecondaryMetaboliteContentofS.rebaudianaHairyRoots................... 12 7.2 EffectofLightandDarkConditions................................................... 14 7.3 EffectofTemperatureonBiomassandSecondaryMetaboliteContentof HairyRoot.............................................................................. 15 8 Conclusions................................................................................... 16 References........................................................................................ 16 M.Kumari(cid:129)S.Chandra(*) DepartmentofBio-Engineering,BirlaInstituteofTechnology,Mesra,Ranchi,Jharkhand,India e-mail:[email protected] #SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2016 1 S.Jha(ed.),TransgenesisandSecondaryMetabolism,ReferenceSeriesin Phytochemistry,DOI10.1007/978-3-319-27490-4_1-1 2 M.KumariandS.Chandra Abstract The study elucidates the production of hairy roots through Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated transformation of leaf and stem explants of S. rebaudiana forsecondarymetaboliteproduction.Hairyrootculturewasestablishedsuccess- fully using leaf and stem explants of S. rebaudiana. Hairy roots grown in MurashigeandSkoog(MS)mediaattemperature25(cid:1)Ckeptin16hphotoperiod provedbestforsteviosideglycosidesproduction.AmongdifferentstrengthofMS and B5 media, full strength MS media produced stevioside 0.412 (cid:3) 0.008 mg mL(cid:4)1 and Reb A 0.100 (cid:3) 0.008 mg mL(cid:4)1, whereas hairy roots on B5 media produced stevioside 0.383 (cid:3) 0.002 mg mL(cid:4)1 and Reb A 0.098 (cid:3) 0.005 mg mL(cid:4)1. Growth of hairy root was found to be maximal at 25 (cid:3) 2(cid:1)Candwiththeincreaseoftemperature,growthofhairyrootsdecreases. Secondary metabolite production was not much affected by increase in temper- ature up to 31 (cid:1)C with approximately similar stevioside content detectable at 25(cid:1)C(0.425 (cid:3) 0.08mgmL(cid:4)1),28(cid:1)C(0.415 (cid:3) 0.08mgmL(cid:4)1),andat31(cid:1)C (0.386 (cid:3) 0.02 mg mL(cid:4)1). At 35 (cid:1)C, stevioside content decreases rapidly (0.090 (cid:3) 0.02mgmL(cid:4)1)andRebAwascompletelynotdetected.Resultswere validated through ultra high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionizationmassspectrometry(LC-ESI/MS)studies. Keywords Bioproduction (cid:129) Stevia rebaudiana (cid:129) In vitro cultures (cid:129) Steviosides glycosides (cid:129) Biosyntheticpathway Abbreviations (cid:1)C DegreeCelsius % Percent 2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyaceticacid Ads Adeninesulphate B5 GamborgB5medium BAP 6-Benzyladenine HPLC Highperformanceliquidchromatography h Hour IAA Indole-3-aceticacid IBA Indole-3-butyricacid Kn Kinetin min Minutes MS MurashigeandSkoog’smedium PGRs Plantgrowthregulators rpm Rotationperminute SD Standarddeviation μL Microlitre SecondaryMetaboliteProductioninTransformedCultures 3 1 Introduction Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) is a small perennial herb, belonging to the asteraceae family.ItisnativetocertainregionsofParaguayandBrazilinSouthAmerica.The plant is also known as a honey leaf and candy leaf [1]. S.rebaudiana contains diterpene glycosides viz. stevioside and rebaudioside A, which are responsible for itssweettastewithzerocalories[2]andareestimatedtobe250–300timessweeter than sucrose. These glycosides possess a number of therapeutics properties in addition to their sweetness value. They regulate the blood glucose level by stimu- lating insulin secretion so that they can be used as an alternative sweetener by hyperglycemic patients [3, 4]. Steviol glycosides can also be used as an antihyper- tensive [5], antitumor [6], vasodilator [7], antimicrobial, [8] and neuroprotective drugs [9]. They are heat- and pH-stable with a good shelf life and can be added in cooking,baking,orinbeverages.Inanumberofcountries,Steviawasapprovedas dietarysupplements.Itmightbeasourceofanumberofpharmaceuticaldrugs.Since Steviaishighlyversatileasanadditive,ithasgainedagreatboostinpopularityinthe past few years and is progressively becoming the focal point of attention amongst foodandbeverageproducers.Thus,varioustherapeuticsandsweeteningproperties arethemostimportantattributesofStevia,whichmakesitacommerciallyimportant plant. Forcommercialcultivation,homogenousrangeofimprovedplantsisrequiredand plantsgerminatedfromseedsshowadegreeofvariability.Alsoinfieldconditions,a widerangeofvariationoccursduetoexternalenvironmentalconditionssuchasplant pathogen,temperature,drought,andwaterlogging,whichleadstovariationincom- position and sweetening levels [10]. Seeds of Stevia have very poor germination potential [11–13]. In today’s world, production of stress tolerant varieties, enhanced plant biomass, and production of medicinally important secondary metabolites are considerableissues.Earlier,vegetativepropagationwasgenerallyusedforcultivation ofStevia.Althoughthistechniqueislimited,numbersofexplantswereobtainedfrom a single plant and that may raise possibilities of pathogen accumulation in tissues. Theseinvitrotissueculturetechniquesmightproveanalternativetooltoconventional methods for comparatively rapid multiplication of elite medicinal plantlets, which givesdisease-free,resistantplantwithhighbiomassandsecondarymetabolites. In plant cell cultures, secondary metabolite augmentation has limiting culture parameters and therefore requirement of knowledge and introduction of new tech- niques are necessary. Many plant secondary metabolites get accumulated in hairy roots.Therefore,intherecentpasthairyrootculturehasreceivedalotofattentionin researchfield.Theneedoftakingtheresearchformlaboratorytoindustryhasledto the development of this new technology. Genetic engineering of hairy roots has playedakeyroleandhasprovidednewdirectiontohairyrootresearch.Hairyroot cultures are preferred over other methods of transformation as they have fast, hormone-independent growth, are highly branched, lack geotropism, shows lateral branching,aregeneticstabilityandduetotheeaseofelicitortreatment[14]. 4 M.KumariandS.Chandra Table1 Secondarymetabolitesproductioninhairyrootculturesofdifferentplants Plantspecies Secondarymetabolite References Atropabelladonna Scopolamine [16] Artemisiaannua Artemisinin [17] Camptothecaacuminata Camptothecin [18] Daturainnoxia Hysocyamineandscopolamine [19] D.quercifolia Scopolamineandhysocyamine [20] D.candida Scopolamineandhysocyamine [21] Duboisialeichhardtii Scopolamine [22] Droseraburmanii Plumbagin [23] Echinaceapurpurea Cichoricacid [24] Ginkgobiloba Ginkgolides [25] Glycyrrhizaglabra Glycyrhizin [26] Hyoscyamusniger Hysocyamineandscopolamine [19] Hyoscyamusniger Scopolamine [27] Papaversomniferum Morphine,codeine [28] Panaxginseng Ginsenosides [29] Psoraleacorylifolia Isoflavones [30] Przewalskiatangutica Tropanealkaloids [31] PodophyllumhexandrumRoyle Podophyllotoxin [32] Plumbagorosea Plumbagin [33] Rauvolfiamicrantha Ajmalicine,Ajmaline [34] Rubiatinctoria Anthraquinone [35] Rubiacordifolia Anthraquinones [36] Solanumkhasianum Solasodine [37] Steviarebaudiana Chlorogenicacid [38] Tylophoraindica Tylophorine [39] Withaniasomnifera WithanolideA [40] In vitro culture of plant cells is now a mature technology with successful applications in crop improvement. The major limitation to wide industrial applica- tionofplantcellcultureisthemaintenanceofstablecelllines[15].Hairyrootscan synthesize more than a single metabolite and so prove economical for commercial production.Anumberofsecondarymetaboliteshavebeenreportedtobeproduced fromhairyrootcultures(Table1). Overthelastdecade,transformedhairyrootshavebeendevelopedinnumberof importantmedicinalplants[41].Differenttypesofexplantslikehypocotyls,cotyle- dons, petioles, and young leaves are most frequently used for Agrobacterium- mediated transformation [42, 43]. The extent of secondary metabolite release in hairy root cultures variesbetween different plant species. As aconsequence,much efforthasbeenputintotheuseofinvitroculturesasoneattractivebiotechnological strategyforproducingthisnaturalcompoundofcommercialinterest. SecondaryMetaboliteProductioninTransformedCultures 5 Fig.1 Stevioside HO HO OH O HO HO O OH O HO O HO O O HO O HO OH Fig.2 RebaudiosideA OH HO HO OH O H O HO O H O HO H O OH O HO OH OH H3C CH2 H HO O O H CH 3 HO O OH OH 2 Distribution and Localization of Diterpene Glycosides in S. rebaudiana The sweet diterpene glycosides of Stevia have been the subject of a number of reviews.TheleavesofS.rebaudianacontainatleasteightditerpeneglycosides,viz., steviosideandrebaudiosides.In1931,isolationofsteviosidewasdonebyBrideland Lavieille [2]. In1952,the chemical structure of stevioside(Fig. 1) was established and described as an aglycon, steviol with glycoside of three glucose molecules. Duringthe1970s,othercompoundswereisolated,includingrebaudiosideA(Fig.2), withsweetnesspotencyevenhigherthanstevioside. 6 M.KumariandS.Chandra OPP OPP CPS KS Kaurene Geranylgeranyl diphosphate (-)-copalyl diphosphate KO OH O-glc UGT85C2 KAH COOH COOH COOH Steviolmonoside Steviol (-)-Kaurnoicacid UGT Kaurenoic acid O-glc-glc 7-oxidase COOH COOH Steviolbioside COOH GA12 UGT74G1 glc O-glc-glc O-glc-glc Gibberllins UGT76G1 COO-glc COO-glc Stevioside Rebaudioside A Fig. 3 Biosynthetic Pathway of Steviol Glycosides (Redrawn from Brandle and Telmer [44]). (Abbreviations:copalyldiphosphatesynthase(CPS),kaurenesynthase(KS),kaureneoxidase(KO), kaurenoicacid13-hydroxylase(KAH)) 3 Biosynthetic Pathway of Steviol Glycosides Steviol glycosides biosynthesis pathway shares some common steps with GA (Gibberellicacid)biosynthesis.Steviolglycosidebiosynthesisoccursinleavesand transported to different parts. In vivo labeling with [1-13C] glucose and NMR SecondaryMetaboliteProductioninTransformedCultures 7 Fig.4 Cellularcomponentsinvolvedinbiosynthesisofsteviolglycosides spectroscopy showed that main precursor steviol is synthesized via the plastid localizedmethylerythritol4-phosphate(MEP)pathway(Fig.3)[44]. Aglyconesteviol is glycosylated by various glucosyltransferases present in the cytoplasm. Steviol has two hydroxyl groups, one present at C-19 of C-4 carboxyl and other at C-13. Glycosylation starts at C-13 by UGT85C2 which produces steviolmonoside.Shibataetal.[45]used13-O-and19-O-methylsteviolassubstrates for crude Stevia leaf enzyme extracts to determine which active group is glucosylated first. They found that only 19-O-steviol could serve as a substrate and concluded that synthesis of SGs starts with the glucosylation of the 13-hydroxyl of steviol. Steviolmonoside is then glycosylated to produce steviolbioside. UGT (uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyltransferase) of this step is not yet identified. Finally, stevioside is produced by UGT74G1 by glucosylation at C-19 position (Fig. 3). Rebaudioside A is synthesized by glucosylationofsteviosideatC-13byUGT76G1[45]. 3.1 Cellular Components Involved in Biosynthesis The precursorof diterpenoids,kaurene issynthesizedin thechloroplast byterpene cyclases (Fig. 4). Like all diterpenes, steviol is synthesized from GGDP (geranyl 8 M.KumariandS.Chandra geranyl diphosphate), first by protonation-initiated cyclization to copalyl diphos- phate (CDP) by CDP synthase (CPS). Next, kaurene is produced from CDP by an ionization-dependantcyclizationcatalysedbyKS(kaurenesynthase). Kaurene is then converted to steviol by the activity of enzymes present at the membraneofendoplasmicreticulum.Itisoxidizedinathree-stepreactiontokaurenoic acid, by kaurene oxidase (KO), a P450 mono-oxygenase that also functions in GA biosynthesis. Steviol biosynthesis diverges from GA biosynthesis with the hydroxyl- ationofkaurenoicacidbyKAH(ent-kaurenoicacid13-hydroxylase).Thisisthefirst committedstepandtheenzymeisofsignificantinterestforuseinbiotechnology.Steviol synthesizes various steviol glycosides in the cytosol that ultimately accumulate in the vacuole.Theaglyconesteviolhastwohydroxylgroups,oneattachedtotheC-19ofthe C-4carboxylandtheotherattachedtotheC-13,bothofwhichcanbeglycosylated. 3.2 Transport of Steviol Glycosides to Vacuole Thefinalphaseofglycosideaccumulationisthetranslocationofglycosylatedsteviol out of the cytosol and accumulation in the vacuole. In Stevia, steviol glycosides are knowntooccurinthevacuole,butthemechanismbywhichtheyaretraffickedintothe vacuoleisnotyetunderstood[46].Vesicle-mediatedtraffickingofmetabolitesseems likeapossiblescenarioforbiosyntheticpathwayswhicharephysicallyassociatedwith theER(endoplasmicreticulum)ororganizedinER-associatedmetabolons[47]. RecentworkhasrevealedanequallyimportantrolefortheATPBindingCassette (ABC) superfamily of transporters. ABC transporters are directly energized by the hydrolysis of ATP [48] and have been shown to transport a diverse array of compounds across the vacuolar membrane in plants including glutathione- conjugatedagrichemicalsanthocyanins[49]andflavoneglucuronides.Theenerget- ics of accumulation of steviosides in Stevia need to be investigated to confirm a directcarrier-mediatedmechanismandtoidentifytheclassoftransporterinvolvedin theuptakeofsteviolglycosides. 4 Biotechnological Approaches to Improve Steviosides Glycosides Production using In Vitro Cultures Several efforts have been dedicated to the use of plant in vitro cultures as a biotechnologicalstrategy toproducesecondarymetabolitesofcommercialinterest. The advantages for industrial production of these compounds include uniform product quality, independence from climate and seasonal changes, supply stability, and a closer relationship between supply and demand. Several studies have been doneinSteviainvitroculturesforglycosidesproduction. Recent studies of Kumari and Chandra [50] revealed micropropagation in S.rebaudianafromleafandnodalexplantsandproductionofhigh-valuesecondary metabolites. A combination of PGRs (plant growth regulators) proved better than single for both callusing and direct-shoot multiplication from leaf explants. SecondaryMetaboliteProductioninTransformedCultures 9 Treatment of Kn and IAA (1.5 mg L(cid:4)1) each showed best callusing response (85.5 (cid:3) 0.33 %). For shoot proliferation from callus, Kn (2.5 mg L(cid:4)1) with IAA (1.5 mg L(cid:4)1) showed maximum number of shoots (5.3 (cid:3) 0.3) proliferating from callus with longest set of 9.03 (cid:3) 0.14 cm. Direct organogenesis from leaf explant andKn(1.5mgL(cid:4)1)withBAP(2.5mgL(cid:4)1)gavemaximumnumber(8.6 (cid:3) 0.33) ofshootsfromleafexplantwithlongestshootlength(5 (cid:3) 0.11)cm.HPLCstudies showedthatboththesecondarymetabolites(stevioside,0.451 (cid:3) 0.001mgg(cid:4)1,and Reb A, 0.131 (cid:3) 0.005 mg g(cid:4)1) are higher in in vitro shoots developed through organogenesisfromcalluscultures[50]. 5 Biotechnological Approaches Involving Genetic Transformation Studies in S. rebaudiana 5.1 Establishment of Hairy Root Cultures Through Infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes on Aseptic Explants of S. rebaudiana S.rebaudianaisanimportantmedicinalplantandonlyfewreportsareavailableon hairy rootcultureofthis plant.No studyhasbeendoneonimprovement ofsteviol glycoside production through hairy root culture. The following experiments were performed to establish a transformation system so that in future transgenic S.rebaudianacouldbedevelopedforvariouseconomicandmedicinalpurposes. Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834 was used for the study. The bacterial cultures were grown in 50 ml of yeast extract broth (YEB) supplemented with 50 mg L(cid:4)1 rifampicin. Plant material of S. rebaudiana was collected from IndigenousMedicinalPlantGardenofBirlaInstituteofTechnology,Mesracampus, andthenstemandshoottipswereselectedforsurfacesterilizationinlaminarairflow. Acultureofbacteriawasinoculatedin50mLYEBmediaandincubatedinarotary shakerfor24hat28(cid:1)Cat100rpminthedark.Afterattainingoptimumgrowth(O.D 0.9), bacterial suspension was then centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 10 min and pellet wascollected.Theresultingpelletfrom50mlsuspensionwassuspendedin250ml MSliquidmediaandwasacclimatizedfor4hat28(cid:1)Cindark.Thiswasfurtherused for co-culture. Surface sterilized explants were wounded and co-cultured in MS liquidmediacontainingbacterialculturefor30min.Infectedexplantswerewashed with autoclaved distilled water for 1–2 times and excess water was removed by blotting paper. All the explants were then inoculated on hormone-free MS agar mediumandculturedinthedarkat25 (cid:3) 2(cid:1)C.After2daysofco-cultivationofplant tissuesandbacterialcells,theexplantsweretransferredontohormone-freeMSagar mediumwith500mgL(cid:4)1cefotaxime,abacteriostaticagent,andculturedfor7days. Oneweeklater,theexplantswereretransferredontohormone-freeMSagarmedium with250mgL(cid:4)1cefotaxime.Thisprocedurewasrepeatedfor2or3timeswithan intervalof1week,andgraduallytheconcentrationofcefotaximewasreduced.The numberofresponsiveexplantsandnumberofhairyrootsperexplantswererecorded after15,30,and45days. 10 M.KumariandS.Chandra Table2 PrimersdesignedforamplificationofrolCgene S.No. Primername Primersequence 1 RolF 5’-TGTGACAAGCAGCGATGAGC-3’ 2 RolR 5’-GATTGCAAACTTGCACTCGC-3’ The hairy roots so obtained from the above transformation procedure were subjected to molecular biology studies to confirm integration of Ri plasmid into thehostgenome.DNAisolationfromhairyrootswasdoneusingDNAisolationkit (QIAGENDNeasyplantmini-kit)followingthemanufacturerinstructions. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identification of the rooting locus gene rol C wasperformedusingDNAfromthehairyrootsastemplateandthenon-transformed rootsascontrol,respectively.Primers(rolCFandrolCR,detailsshowninTable2) and100ngofgenomicDNAisolatedfromhairyrootswereusedforamplification. Amplifications were performed using a GeneAmp PCR System 9700 Thermo- cycler (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) that was programmed for an initialdenaturationstepof3minat94(cid:1)Cand35cycles(eachconsistingof1minat 94(cid:1)C,1minat53.5(cid:1)C,and1minat72(cid:1)C),followedbyafinalextensionat72(cid:1)C for 6 min. Amplified products were resolved on 1.4 % agarose gel by electrophoresis. 5.2 Steviol Glycosides Production in Hairy Root Cultures of S. rebaudiana Purifiedhairy roots werecutby sterilized scalpel under laminar airflow andinocu- lated on hormone-free liquid MS medium. After 3 weeks, regenerated hairy roots were transferred to different media according to test conditions. Some physical parameters like effect of culture media, temperature, and light on steviol glycoside productionwasalsoobserved. 5.3 Extraction and Analysis of Stevioside Glycosides Through HPLC Hairyrootsfromdifferentsetsofflaskswerecollectedanddriedtoaconstantweight at40(cid:1)Candgroundedtomakefinepowder.Forextractionofsteviosideglycosides, driedpowderwasdippedinmethanol/waterinthe4:1.Themixturewasleftatroom temperature for overnight. Extract was then filtered next day using Whatmann number 1 filter paper and dried. These sample extract were redissolved in distilled waterandfilteredthrougha0.2μmMilliporefilterforanalysisbyHPLC.Stevioside glycosides were separated using a Waters HPLC system (WatersCorporation, Mil- ford,MA)indC18column(WatersAtlantis,4.6mm (cid:5) 150mm;4μmparticlesize). 20 μL of extracts were injected in a HPLC system. The solvents optimized for isocratic elution consisted of acetonitrile and MilliQ water with 0.1 % ortho- phosphoricacidintheratioof20:30 withflowrateof0.5mLmin(cid:4)1.Thedetector wassetat210nm.Thecompoundsfromsampleswereidentifiedbycomparingthe