Purification and Properties of Lipase Activator Produced by Streptomyces sp. Strain No. BR-1381

To obtain actinomycetes capable of producing new enzyme affectors such as enzyme inhibitors or activators, a screening test was carried out. Streptomyces sp. strain No. BR-1381 isolated in our laboratory produced a proteinous lipase activator abbreviated as LAV. LAV was purified from the culture filtrate by salting-out with ammonium sulfate, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. LAV was stable in the pH range from 3 to 7 at 37°c for 20 hr and in a wider range of pH at 4°C for 5 days. LAV itself was very stable against heat treatment, but LAV did not have any effect on the thermal stability of Phycomyces nitens lipase. LAV activated several microbial lipases, but did not activate pancreatic or rice bran lipases. LAV particularly showed strong activation for Phycomyces nitens lipase.     

Improvement of ginsenoside production by jasmonic acid and some other elicitors in hairy root culture of ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer)

Summary Hairy root cultures of Panax ginseng, established after the infection of root sections with Agrobacterium rhizogenes KCTC 2703, were cultured in phytohormone-free Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium containing different concentrations of jasmonic acid and some other elicitors, in order to promote ginsenoside accumulation. Jasmonic acid in the range 1.0−5.0 mg l⁻¹ (4.8–23.8 μM) strongly improved total ginsenoside production in ginseng hairy roots. Peptone (300 mg l⁻¹) also showed some effect on ginsenoside improvement; however its effect was much weaker than that of jasmonic acid. Ginsenoside content and productivity were 58.65 and 504.39 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The Rb group of ginsenoside content was increased remarkably by jasmonic acid, while Rg group ginsenoside content changed only slightly compared to controls. However, jasmonic acid also strongly inhibited ginseng hairy root growth.     

Microbial conversion of ginsenoside Rd from Rb1 by the fungus mutant Aspergillus niger strain TH-10a

Ginsenoside Rd, one of the ginsenosides with significant pharmaceutical activities, is getting more and more attractions on its biotransformation. In this study, a novel fungus mutant, the Aspergillus niger strain TH-10a, which can efficiently convert ginsenoside Rd from Rb1, was obtained through screening survival library of LiCl and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The transformation product ginsenoside Rd, generated by removing the outer glucose residue from the position C20 of ginsenoside Rb1, was identified through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Factors for the microbial culture and biotransformation were investigated in terms of the carbon sources, the nitrogen sources, pH values, and temperatures. This showed that maximum mycelia growth could be obtained at 28°C and pH 6.0 with cellobiose and tryptone as the carbon source and the nitrogen source, respectively. The highest transformation rate (～86%) has been achieved at 32°C and pH 5.0 with the feeding time of substrate 48 hr. Also, Aspergillus niger strain TH-10a could tolerate even 40 mg/mL ginseng root extract as substrate with 60% bioconversion rate after 72 hr of treatment at the optimal condition. Our results highlight a novel ginsenoside Rd transformation fungus and illuminate its potentially practical application in the pharmaceutical industries.     

人参植物皂苷生物合成相关新基因的筛选与鉴定

人参植物根进行的特定发育过程在药用次生物———人参皂苷生物合成和累积中发挥重要作用。为从人参根中分离出人参皂苷生物合成相关基因 ,采用抑制差减杂交技术 ,构建四年和一年生人参根组织mRNA群体间正向差减cDNA文库。对从差减文库中筛选的 4 0个阳性cDNA克隆进行酶切、PCR与逆向Northern斑点杂交鉴定、DNA测序以及核苷酸序列同源性比较。结果表明 ,获得的 6个差减克隆在GenBank/DDBJ/BMBL无对应的同源基因 ,代表新基因序列。与此同时 ,使用Northern印迹杂交验证及半定量RT PCR进一步确认 ,6个转录本为根发育阶段差异性表达基因。因而提示 ,它们可能在人参皂苷生物合成中发挥了重要作用。此外 ,在人参茎、叶与种子中亦能检测到上述基因转录本的表达。目前 ,6个新基因已被命名 ,在GenBank注册并获登录号 ,为克隆上述新基因cDNA全长序列及深入鉴定其在人参皂苷生物合成中的功能提供了重要实验依据。     

人参皂苷生物合成相关新基因GBR6的cDNA克隆及序列分析

从人参根组织中分离总RNA,使用RT—PCR扩增出人参皂苷生物合成相关基因GBR6开放阅读框(ORF)cDNA片断,并将其定向克隆入原核高效表达载体pQE30,阳性克隆经BamHⅠ和PstⅠ双酶切鉴定、测序验证与已知的GBR6ORF序列完全一致．因而成功构建了pQE30-GBR60RF融合原核表达载体,为下一步进行GBR6功能表达分析奠定了基础．     

三七块根紫色素的花色苷本质及其含量和总皂苷含量的正相关性

三七是中国云南省的"第一药材",云南文山三七是三七的道地药材。三七块根的横截面为黄白色至紫色。紫色块根约占研究块根总数的28 .21 %,其中柱鞘、内皮层、皮层或表皮为紫色。特征颜色反应和紫外——可见光谱表明:三七块根紫色素属于黄酮类化合物,可能含有酚性邻位二羟基,不含类胡萝卜素、查耳酮、噢哢、异黄酮、儿茶素。花色苷和/或其苷元花色素奠定了紫色块根着色的基础,其他的非红色的黄酮类化合物起共色素的作用。块根的平均花色苷含量和平均总皂苷含量均以纯紫色块根的为最高,其次是黄紫混合色块根的,纯黄色的最低。块根的花色苷含量差异达到极显著水平,但总皂苷含量差异却没有达到显著水平。每个块根都含有不同量的花色苷,随花色苷量的增加,块根的紫色一般逐渐明显。块根的花色苷含量与其总皂苷含量之间呈显著正相关,相关系数r=0 .355。本文可为三七块根颜色呈现的机理探索及其色素的分子结构鉴定提供参考。     

Efficient elicitation of ginsenoside biosynthesis in cell cultures ofPanax notoginseng by using self-chemically-synthesized jasmonates

A series of fluorine and hydroxyl containing jasmonate derivatives, which were chemically synthesized in our institute, were investigated for their effects on the biosynthesis and heterogeneity of ginsenosides in suspension cultures ofPanax notoginseng cells. Compared to the control (without addition of elicitors), 100 μM of each of the jasmonate was added on day 4 to the suspension cultures ofP. notoginseng cells. It was observed that, jasmonates greatly enhanced the ginsenoside content and the ratio of Rb group to Rg group (i.e. (Rb₁+Rd)/(Rg₁+Re)) in theP. notoginseng cells. Some of the synthetic jasmonates, such as pentafluoropropyl jasmonate (PFPJA), 2-hydroxyethyl jasmonate (HEJA) and 2-hydroxyethoxyethyl jasmonate (HEEJA), could promote the ginsenoside content to 2.55±0.11, 3.65±0.13 and 2.94±0.06 mg/100 mg DW, respectively, compared to that of 0.64±0.06 mg/100 mg DW for the control and 2.17±0.04 mg/100 mg DW by the commercially available methyl jasmonate (MJA); and they could change the respective Rb: Rg ratio to 1.60±0.04, 1.87±0.01 and 1.56±0.05, compared to that of 0.47±0.01 for the control and 1.42±0.06 by MJA. The results suggest that suitable esterification of MJA with fluorine or hydroxyl group could increase the elicitation activity to induce plant secondary metabolism. The information obtained from this study is useful for hyper-production of heterogeneous products by plant cell cultures.