Unlocking Pharmacological and Therapeutic Potential of Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus L.): Role of OMICS Based Biology, Biotic and Abiotic Elicitors

Hyacinth bean also known as Indian bean is multipurpose legume crops consumed both as food by humans and as forage by animals. Being a rich source of protein, it also produces distinct secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, phenols and tyrosinase which not only help strengthened plant’s own innate immunity against abiotic/biotrophic attackers but also play important therapeutic role in the treatment of various chronic diseases. However, despite its immense therapeutic and nutritional attributes in strengthening food, nutrition and therapeutic security in many developing countries, it is still considered as an “orphan crop” for unravelling its genetic potential and underlying molecular mechanisms for enhancing secondary metabolite production. Several lines of literatures have well documented the use of OMICS based techniques and biotic and abiotic elicitors for stimulating secondary metabolite production particularly in model as well as in few economically important crops. However, only limited reports have described their application for stimulating secondary metabolite production in underutilised crops. Therefore, the present chapter will decipher different dimensions of multi-omics tools and their integration with other conventional techniques (biotic and abiotic elicitors) for unlocking hidden genetic potential of hyacinth bean for elevating the production of secondary metabolites having pharmaceutical and therapeutic application. Additionally, the study will also provide valuable insights about how these advance OMICS tools can be successfully exploited for accelerating functional genomics and breeding research for unravelling their hidden pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential thereby ensuring food and therapeutic security for the betterment of mankind.

Biotic and Abiotic Elicitors of Stilbenes Production in Vitis vinifera L. Cell Culture

The in vitro cell cultures derived from the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) have been used for the production of stilbenes treated with different biotic and abiotic elicitors. The red-grape cultivar Váh has been elicited by natural cellulose from Trichoderma viride, the cell wall homogenate from Fusarium oxysporum and synthetic jasmonates. The sodium-orthovanadate, known as an inhibitor of hypersensitive necrotic response in treated plant cells able to enhance production and release of secondary metabolite into the cultivation medium, was used as an abiotic elicitor. Growth of cells and the content of phenolic compounds trans-resveratrol, trans-piceid, δ-viniferin, and ɛ-viniferin, were analyzed in grapevine cells treated by individual elicitors. The highest accumulation of analyzed individual stilbenes, except of trans-piceid has been observed after treatment with the cell wall homogenate from F. oxysporum. Maximum production of trans-resveratrol, δ- and ɛ-viniferins was triggered by treatment with cellulase from T. viride. The accumulation of trans-piceid in cell cultures elicited by this cellulase revealed exactly the opposite effect, with almost three times higher production of trans-resveratrol than that of trans-piceid. This study suggested that both used fungal elicitors can enhance production more effectively than commonly used jasmonates.

Effects of Abiotic Elicitors on Expression and Accumulation of Three Candidate Benzophenanthridine Alkaloids in Cultured Greater Celandine Cells

Efforts to develop the necessary biotechnologies in Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus L.), a leading plant resource for the development of plant-derived medicines, have been hampered by the lack of knowledge about transcriptome and metabolome regulations of its medicinal components. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of abiotic elicitors, methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA), at different time courses (12, 24, 48, and 72 h), on expression and metabolome of key benzophenanthridine alkaloids (BPAs) in an optimized in vitro culture. Gene expression analysis indicated the upregulation of CFS (cheilanthifoline synthase) to 2.62, 4.85, and 7.28 times higher than the control at 12, 24, and 48 h respectively, under MJ elicitation. Besides, MJ upregulated the expression of TNMT (tetrahydroprotoberberine N-methyltransferase) to 2.79, 4.75, and 7.21 times at 12, 24, and 48 h respectively, compared to the control. Investigation of BPAs revealed a significant enhancement in the chelidonine content (9.86 µg/mg) after 72 h of MJ elicitation. Additionally, sanguinarine content increased to its highest level (3.42 µg/mg) after 24 h of MJ elicitation; however, no significant enhancement was detected in its content in shorter elicitation time courses. Generally, higher gene expression and BPAs’ level was observed through longer elicitation courses (48 and 72 h). Our findings take part in improving the understanding of transcription and metabolic regulation of BPAs in cultured Greater Celandine cells.

Effects of Abiotic Elicitors on Expression and Accumulation of Three Candidate Benzophenanthridine Alkaloids in Cultured Greater Celandine Cells

Efforts to develop the necessary biotechnologies in Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus L.), a leading plant resource for the development of plant-derived medicines, have been hampered by the lack of knowledge about transcriptome and metabolome regulations of its medicinal components. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of abiotic elicitors, methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA), at different time courses (12, 24, 48, and 72 h), on expression and metabolome of key benzophenanthridine alkaloids (BPAs) in an optimized in vitro culture. Gene expression analysis indicated the up-regulation of CFS to 2.62, 4.85, and 7.28 times higher than the control at 12, 24, and 48 h, respectively, under MJ elicitation. Besides, MJ up-regulated the expression of TNMT to 2.79, 4.75, and 7.21 times at 12, 24, and 48 h, respectively, compared to the control. Investigation of BPAs revealed a significant enhancement in the chelidonine content (9.86 µg/mg) after 72 h of MJ elicitation. Additionally, sanguinarine content increased to its highest level (3.42 µg/mg) after 24 h of MJ elicitation; however, no significant enhancement was detected in its content in shorter elicitation time courses. Generally, higher gene expression and BPAs’ level was observed through longer elicitation courses (48 and 72 h). Our findings take part in improving the understanding of transcription and metabolic regulation of BPAs in cultured Greater Celandine cells.