Involvement of LeMRP,an ATP‐binding cassette transporter,in shikonin transport and biosynthesis in Lithospermum erythrorhizon

• Shikonin and its derivatives are important medicinal secondary metabolites accumulating in roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon. Although some membrane proteins have been identified as transporters of secondary metabolites, the mechanisms underlying shikonin transport and accumulation in L. erythrorhizon cells still remain largely unknown.
• In this study, we isolated a cDNA encoding LeMRP, an ATP‐binding cassette transporter from L. erythrorhizon, and further investigated its functions in the transport and biosynthesis of shikonin using the yeast transformation and transgenic hairy root methods, respectively. Real‐time PCR was applied for expression analyses of LeMRP and shikonin biosynthetic enzyme genes.
• Functional analysis of LeMRP using the heterologous yeast cell expression system showed that LeMRP could be involved in shikonin transport. Transgenic hairy roots of L. erythrorhizon demonstrated that LeMRP overexpressing hairy roots produced more shikonin than the empty vector (EV) control. Real‐time PCR results revealed that the enhanced shikonin biosynthesis in the overexpression lines was mainly caused by highly up‐regulated expression of genes coding key enzymes (LePAL, HMGR, Le4CL and LePGT) involved in shikonin biosynthesis. Conversely, LeMRP RNAi decreased the accumulation of shikonin and effectively down‐regulated expression level of the above genes. Typical inhibitors of ABC proteins, such as azide and buthionine sulphoximine, dramatically inhibited accumulation of shikonin in hairy roots.
• Our findings provide evidence for the important direct or indirect role of LeMRP in transmembrane transport and biosynthesis of shikonin.

     

Shikonin derivative formation on the stem of cultured shoots in Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Lithospermum erythrorhizon , which are capable of producing red pigments, have been established. The red pigments were formed on the stems of L. erythrorhizon shoots cultured both on solid and in liquid media without phytohormones at 25 °C in the dark. Thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography and ¹ H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses revealed that the red pigments which accumulated on the cultured shoots were shikonin derivatives. The effects of various basal media and phytohormones (indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid and kinetin) on the growth and the formation of shikonin derivatives were investigated. When the shoots were cultured on Murashige and Skoog solid medium, the addition of kinetin remarkably enhanced shikonin derivative accumulation in the shoots. However, these effects of kinetin were not observed in the liquid culture when cultured in Gamborg B5 medium. The maximum content of shikonin derivatives (2.3% as dry weight, ca. 1.5 mg/100 ml flask) was observed in the shoots cultured in phytohormone-free B5 liquid medium for 5 weeks. Received: 1 February 2000 / Revision received: 23 March 2000 / Accepted: 28 March 2000     

Induction of benzoquinone formation by activated carbon in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures

Cultured cells of Lithospermum erythrorhizon which were capable of producing red naphthoquinone (shikonin) derivatives on Linsmaier-Skoog's agar medium stopped synthesizing these compounds when grown in liquid medium without agar. However, when the liquid medium was supplemented with a small amount of activated carbon, the cells produced a new orange benzoquinone derivative, echinofuran B, which may be considered an abnormal metabolite of geranylquinol, the key intermediate in the biosynthesis of shikonin. A similar effect of activated carbon was also observed with a variant cell line incapable of producing shikonin derivatives even on the agar medium. By contrast, the callus cultures grown on the agar medium as well as the dried roots of the intact plant were found to contain a small amount of echinofuran C, another new benzoquinone related to echinofuran B, in addition to shikonin derivatives.     

Pigment formation in callus cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Undifferentiated callus tissues of Lithospermum erythrorhizon are capable of synthesizing shikonin derivatives, which are normally formed in the cork cells of the roots. Their biosynthesis in cultured cells is controlled by auxin and light. The pigment content increased linearly with time after a lag phase when callus tissues were grown on culture medium containing IAA in the dark, whereas it markedly decreased when 2,4-D was substituted for IAA or when cultures were irradiated with blue light.     

Effect of growth hormone modifications on shikonin production fromLithospermum erythrorhizon cell cultures within situ extraction

Summary The effect of growth hormone modifications on shikonin production was studied with the cell cultures ofLithospermum erythrorhizon. The cells grown in SH–H or SHA medium were effective for shikonin production in M–9 medium and maximum shikonin concentrations reached 43 and 63 mg/L, respectively, within situ extraction. In the case of the cells grown in SHA medium, induction time required for shikonin production was very short and the maximum shikonin concentration was obtained within 6 days.     

Effects of Methyl jasmonate with indole-3-acetic acid and 6-benzylaminopurine on the secondary metabolism of cultured <Emphasis Type="Italic">Onosma paniculatum</Emphasis> cells

Summary Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) interacted significantly with both indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) to influence cell growth of cultured Onosma paniculatum cells. Cell growth decreased with increasing concentrations of MeJA from 0.004–4.45 μM with or without IAA and BA. The same concentrations of MeJA (0–4.45 μM) increased the cell growth with IAA and BA, when administered to the cultured cells in M₉ medium. This was found to enhance the production of shikonin. The optimum time for MeJA addition for enhanced shikonin formation was 4 d after cell inoculation in M₉ medium. Furthermore, shikonin formation was affected significantly by both MeJA/IAA and MeJA/BA combinations. Shikonin content was enhanced by increasing MeJA concentrations with IAA concentrations in the range of 0–28 μM and with BA concentrations in the range of 0–44.38 μM in MeJA/BA experiments, respectively. The optimal combination of MeJA and IAA was 4.45 μM and 0.28 μM, while MeJA and BA concentrations of 4.45 μM and 2.22 μM were optimal for shikonin formation. The result also showed that MeJA increased phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid-geranyltransferase (PHB-geranyltransferase) activites during the course of shikonin formation, but decreased the activity of PHB-O-glucosyltransferase within 9 d after inoculation. These results suggest that enhanced shikonin formation in cultured Onosma paniculatum cells induced by MeJA involves regulation of the key enzyme activities.     

Cell-Specific Production and Antimicrobial Activity of Naphthoquinones in Roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Pigmented naphthoquinone derivatives of shikonin are produced at specific times and in specific cells of Lithospermum erythrorhizon roots. Normal pigment development is limited to root hairs and root border cells in hairy roots grown on “noninducing” medium, whereas induction of additional pigment production by abiotic (CuSO₄) or biotic (fungal elicitor) factors increases the amount of total pigment, changes the ratios of derivatives produced, and initiates production of pigment de novo in epidermal cells. When the biological activity of these compounds was tested against soil-borne bacteria and fungi, a wide range of sensitivity was recorded. Acetyl-shikonin and β-hydroxyisovaleryl-shikonin, the two most abundant derivatives in both Agrobacterium rhizogenes-transformed “hairy-root” cultures and greenhouse-grown plant roots, were the most biologically active of the seven compounds tested. Hyphae of the pathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium aphanidermatum, and Nectria hematococca induced localized pigment production upon contact with the roots. Challenge by R. solani crude elicitor increased shikonin derivative production 30-fold. We have studied the regulation of this suite of related, differentially produced, differentially active compounds to understand their role(s) in plant defense at the cellular level in the rhizosphere.     

Production of shikonin derivatives by cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Differences in the production of shikonin derivatives by callus and suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc. were examined. When Linsmaier and Skoog medium was used in suspension cultures, cell growth was not accompanied by the production of shikonin compounds. Shikonin derivatives were produced, however, when this medium was used in callus cultures. Differences in shikonin production were examined in terms of the nutrient supply, the effect of the agar itself, and the oxygen supply. Shikonin derivatives could be produced without agar by keeping the cells exposed to air while providing an adequate supply of nutrients. In callus cultures, the production of shikonin compounds was reduced remarkedly when the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere was lowered, evidence that shikonin production during L. erythrorhizon cell growth on Linsmaier and Skoog agar medium is enhanced by an abundant supply of oxygen.     

Regulation of shikonin production by glutamine in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell cultures

Amino acid analysis has shown that Lithosperum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures which are unable to produce shikonin derivatives in LS medium containing ammonium accumulate a large quantity of glutamine, as compared with shikonin-producing cells cultured in the production medium M9 containing nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. The addition of glutamine to M9 medium proved to be strongly inhibitory to shikonin production. Furthermore, culture experiments using an inhibitor of glutaminase suggested that shikonin synthesis is not inhibited by ammonium released from glutamine but by glutamine itself. These findings indicate that the repression of shikonin synthesis occurs in close association with an accumulation of glutamine in cultured cells grown in a medium containing ammonium.     

Stable transformation of Lithospermum erythrorhizon by Agrobacterium rhizogenes and shikonin production of the transformants

Seedling hypocotyls of Lithospermum erythrorhizon were infected with Agrobacterium rhizogenes (strain 15834) harboring a binary vector with an intron-bearing the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene driven by cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter as well as the hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) gene as the selection marker. About 20% of the hairy roots isolated were hygromycin resistant and had co-integrated GUS and HPT genes in their Lithospermum genomic DNA. Because GUS activity was detected in almost all the hygromycin-resistant root tissues, the CaMV 35S promoter seems to be ubiquitously active in L. erythrorhizon hairy roots. In pigment production medium M9, the hairy root cultures had shikonin productivity similar to that of cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum. They also showed light-dependent inhibition of shikonin biosynthesis similar to that of Lithospermum cell cultures. These findings suggest that this hairy root system transformable with A. rhizogenes is a suitable model system for molecular characterization of shikonin biosynthesis via reverse genetics. Received: 2 March 1998 / Revision received: 25 May 1998 / Accepted: 8 July 1998     

A novel dark-inducible protein, LeDI-2, and its involvement in root-specific secondary metabolism in Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Lithospermum erythrorhizon produces red naphthoquinone pigments that are shikonin derivatives. They are accumulated exclusively in the roots of this plant. The biosynthesis of shikonin is strongly inhibited by light, even though other environmental conditions are optimized. Thus, L. erythrorhizon dark-inducible genes (LeDIs) were isolated to investigate the regulatory mechanism of shikonin biosynthesis. LeDI-2, showing the strict dark-specific expression, was further characterized by use of cell suspension cultures and hairy root cultures as model systems. Its mRNA accumulation showed a similar pattern with that of shikonin. In the intact plants LeDI-2 expression was observed solely in the root, and the longitudinal distribution of its mRNA was also in accordance to that of shikonin. LeDI-2 encoded a very hydrophobic polypeptide of 114 amino acids that shared significant similarities with some root-specific polypeptides such as ZRP3 (maize) and RcC3 (rice). Reduction of LeDI-2 expression by its antisense DNA in hairy roots of L. erythrorhizon decreased the shikonin accumulation, whereas other biosynthetic enzymes, e.g. p-hydroxybenzoic acid:geranyltransferase, which catalyzed a critical biosynthetic step, showed similar activity as the wild-type clone. This is the first report of the gene that is involved in production of secondary metabolites without affecting biosynthetic enzyme activities.     

Production of shikonin derivatives by cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon

An excellent new medium was developed for the production of shikonin derivatives by suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon. We investigated the effects of all the components of White's medium on the production of these derivatives. Nitrate, phosphate, copper, sulfate and sucrose had especially marked effects. With the new, M-9, medium produced from these studies the yield of shikonin derivatives was 1400 mg/l and the yield for dried cells was about 12%, whereas it was 120 mg/l, or about 2% with White's medium.     

Biosynthesis of shikonin in callus cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Administration of various supposed precursors to the callus cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon grown on the Linsmaier—Skoog medium supplemented with IAA and kinetin established that the constituent shikonin is formed via shikimic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, m-geranyl-p-hydroxybenzoic acid and geranylhydroquinone. In a strain of callus culture lacking the capacity to synthesize shikonin and in callus cultures which have had this capacity but lost it due to cultivation on a medium supplemented with 2,4-D, substances up to m-geranyl-p-hydroxybenzoic acid in the biosynthetic sequence have been detected. Although illumination with white light also arrested shikonin production, traces of pigment were still formed presumably because light did not reach the innermost part of the callus cultures.     

Induction of shikonin formation by agar in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures

Cultured cells of Lithospermum erythrorhizon capable of producing red naphthoquinone (shikonin) derivatives on Linsmaier-Skoog agar medium ceased s     

Shikonin production and secretion by hairy root cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon

Summary Hairy root cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon were established by transformation of in vitro grown shoots with Agrobacterium rhizogenes 15834. Hairy roots cultured on Murashige and Skoog solid medium did not produce any red pigments. However, the hairy roots cultured in Root Culture solid or liquid media produced a large amount of red pigments, which were released to the medium. The addition of adsorbents to the culture medium stimulated shikonin production by ca. 3-fold. Using this method an air-lift fermenter system was established, equipped with a XAD-2 column, which continuously produced ca. 5 mg/day of shikonin during a period of more than 220 days.     

The Effective Production of Shikonin by Cultures with an Increased Cell Population

We have studied the efficient production of shikonin derivatives by suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon with an increased cell population. The yield of shikonin derivatives was highest (800 mg/liter) when 2.8 g dry wt/liter of the cells was inoculated into the M-2 medium which we had developed for the production, but the excess inoculum lowered the yield.

We investigated suitable conditions for production with the increased cell population. The optimum amount of inoculum rose to 4.9 g dry wt/liter when the concentrations of all the components contained in the M-8 medium, which we developed for increasing the productivity by modification of the M-2 medium, were increased in proportion to the amount of inoculum, and consequently we could increase the yield of the shikonin derivatives from 1400 mg/liter to 1900 mg/liter. Moreover, the increased rate of oxygen supply in addition to the enrichment of the medium made it possible to produce 2300 mg/liter of the shikonin derivatives from a culture for which 5.6 g dry wt/liter of the cells was inoculated.