Induction of latent biosynthetic activities of secondary metabolites in higher plants as the novel medicinal resources of natural products

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23590146
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental pharmacy
• Research Institution: University of Toyama
• Principal Investigator: KUROSAKI FUMIYA 富山大学, 医学薬学研究部(薬学), 教授 (70143865)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KATOH Yasuo 富山県立大学, 工学部, 教授 (20254237) ; OGITA Shinjiro 富山県立大学, 工学部, 准教授 (50363875)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 植物 / バイオテクノロジー / 物質生産 / 遺伝子 / 有用資源 / 情報伝達機構

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of the present study is the elucidation of the signal transduction mechanism of the induction of secondary metabolic activity induced by the stimulation of a plant hormone, jasmonic acid. Several cDNA cloned encoding Rac GTPase, a family of monomeric GTP-binding proteins specifically observed in higher plants, were isolated, and a homologue of which translate product should function in jasmonate-signaling was identified. Several medicinal plants were transformed by the Rac GTPase gene, and it was found that these transgenic plants showed high productivities of the useful natural products. These results suggested that the engineering of jasmonates-signaling processes in plant cells by transformation with appropriate genes would be a novel method for the transcriptional activation of several biosynthetic enzymes involved in secondary metabolism of various useful plants.

Free Research Field

植物分子生物学