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Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on November 6, 2006

Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcl032
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received May 23, 2005

Regular paper

Expression and RNA Interference Induced Silencing of Dammarenediol Synthase Gene in Panax ginseng

Jung Yeon Han 1, Yong Soo Kwon 2, Doek Chun Yang 3, Young Rim Jung 4, and Yong Eui Choi 5 *

1 College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 200-701, Republic of Korea; Division of Forest Resources, College of Forest Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 200-701, Republic of Korea
2 College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 200-701, Republic of Korea
3 Depratment of Oriental Medical Materials and Processing, Kyung-Hee University, Suwon 449-701, Korea
4 Central laboratory, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 200-701, Republic of Korea
5 Division of Forest Resources, College of Forest Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 200-701, Republic of Korea

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Yong Eui Choi, E-mail: yechoi{at}kangwon.ac.kr


   Abstract

Panax ginseng is one of the most highly valued herbal medicines in the Orient, where it has gained an almost magical reputation for being able to maintain the quality of life. Root of ginseng has noble tetracyclic triterpenenoid saponins (ginsenosides), which are thought to be the major effective ingredients in P. ginseng. The first committed step in ginsenoside synthesis is the cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene to dammarenediol II by the oxidosqualene cyclase (dammarenediol synthase). The gene encoding dammarenediol synthase was characterized by Tansakul et al. (2006). Here, we investigated the expression of dammarenediol synthase gene (DDS) together with the genes involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis (SS, SE, PNX, PNY, PNY2 and PNZ). Expression of DDS mRNA was higher in flower buds compared to root, leaf and petiole of ginseng plants. Elicitor (methyl jasmonate) treatment upregulated the expression of DDS mRNA. Ectopic expression of DDS in yeast mutant (erg7) lacking lanosterol synthase resulted in the production of dammarenediol and hydroxydammarenone which were confirmed by LC/APCIMS. RNA interference (RNAi) of DDS in transgenic P. ginseng resulted in silencing of DDS expression which leads reduction of ginsenosides production to 84.5% in roots. These results indicate that expression of DDS played a vital role in the biosynthesis of ginsenosides in P. ginseng.

Keywords: Saponins; Triterpene; 2,3-Oxidosqualene cyclases; Ginsenoside; RNAi.
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