Transcription factors (TFs) play an important role in regulating the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In , the level of methylated derivatives of pinosylvin is significantly increased upon pine wood nematode (PWN) infection, and these compounds are highly toxic to PWNs. In a previous study, we found that the expression of a basic helix-loop-helix TF gene, , strongly increased in plants after infection with PWNs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRapid technological advancements have led to increased demands for sensors. Hence, high performance suitable for next-generation technology is required. As sensing technology has numerous applications, various materials and patterning methods are used for sensor fabrication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
February 2023
Microfluidic flow focusing provides an efficient approach to the generation of nanoscale lipid vesicles of tunable size and low size variance. Scalable nanoliposome synthesis over a wide range of production rates can be readily achieved using a high aspect ratio flow focusing device fabricated by widely available additive manufacturing methods. Here we detail methods for the manufacture and operation of a 3D-printed microfluidic flow focusing technology enabling the synthesis of liposomes with modal diameters ranging from ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFControl over vesicle size during nanoscale liposome synthesis is critical for defining the pharmaceutical properties of liposomal nanomedicines. Microfluidic technologies capable of size-tunable liposome generation have been widely explored, but scaling these microfluidic platforms for high production throughput without sacrificing size control has proven challenging. Here we describe a microfluidic-enabled process in which highly vortical flow is established around an axisymmetric stream of solvated lipids, simultaneously focusing the lipids while inducing rapid convective and diffusive mixing through application of the vortical flow field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPinosylvin stilbenes are natural phenolic compounds found in the Pinaceae family and act as phytoalexins. Some pinosylvin stilbenes have strong nematicidal activity against pine wood nematodes (PWNs: ). Here, we established the efficient production of two pinosylvin stilbenes, dihydropinosylvin monomethylether (DPME) and pinosylvin monomethylether (PME), by cell suspension culture of after fungal elicitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The roots of contain two types of tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins, namely, protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type saponins and protopanaxatiol (PPT)-type saponins. In , the protopanaxadiol 6-hydroxylase (PPT synthase) enzyme catalyses protopanaxatriol (PPT) production from protopanaxadiol (PPD). In this study, we constructed homozygous mutant lines of ginseng by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of the PPT synthase gene and obtained the mutant ginseng root lines having complete depletion of the PPT-type ginsenosides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur previous studies showed an age-related increased prevalence of nasal polyps (NP) and reduced production of S100A8/9 in elderly patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with NP (CRSwNP). In this study, we investigated an unbiased age-related gene expression profile in CRSwNP subjects and healthy controls, and further identified the differences in their tissue remodeling. Microarrays using NP and uncinate tissues from health controls (elderly, age ≥65 vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriterpenoids exist in a free state and/or in conjugated states, such as triterpene glycosides (saponins) or triterpene esters. There is no information on the enzyme participating in the production of triterpene esters from free triterpenes. Lettuce () contains various pentacyclic triterpene acetates (taraxasterol acetates, ψ-taraxasterol acetates, taraxerol acetates, lupeol acetates, α-amyrin acetates, β-amyrin acetates, and germanicol acetate).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPinosylvin stilbenes are phenolic compounds mainly occurring in the Pinaceae family. We previously reported that the accumulation of two pinosylvin stilbene compounds, dihydropinosylvin methyl ether (DPME) and pinosylvin monomethyl ether (PME), in Pinus strobus trees was highly enhanced by infection with pine wood nematodes (PWNs: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), and these two compounds showed strong nematicidal activity against PWNs. In this work, we established a system of pinosylvin stilbene (DPME and PME) production via the in vitro culture of P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPine wood nematodes (PWNs; Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) infect pine trees and cause serious pine wilt disease. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) has resistance to PWN. However, the detailed defense mechanisms of P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a member of the family Asteraceae and is most often used for green salads. Triterpenes are the largest class of natural compounds in plants and have beneficial health effects. Here, we identified various triterpene esters (taraxasterol acetates, ψ-taraxasterol acetates, taraxerol acetates, lupeol acetates, α-amyrin acetates, β-amyrin acetates, and germanicol acetate) and free triterpenes (α-amyrin, β-amyrin, taraxerol, and taraxasterol) in both the leaves and roots of lettuce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability around the world. So far, drugs are not available to repair brain damage. Human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) transplantation therapy is a promising approach, although the inflammatory microenvironment of the injured brain affects the efficacy of transplanted hMSCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Artemisia annua plants, glandular trichomes (GTs) are responsible for the biosynthesis and secretion of sesquiterpene lactones including artemisinin/arteannuin B. Nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) in plants bind and carry lipid molecules across the cell membrane and are also known as secretary proteins. Interestingly, the transcripts of LTP genes are exceptionally abundant in the GTs of A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtopanaxadiol is dammarane-type tetracyclic triterpene sapogenin found in ginseng and has a high medicinal values. We successfully constructed transgenic rice producing protopanaxadiol by introducing the ginseng PgDDS and CYP716A47 genes in this crop plant. Protopanaxadiol (PPD), an aglycone of ginsenosides, possesses pleiotropic anticarcinogenesis activities in many cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the USA and the world; it constitutes 30% of injury-related deaths (Taylor et al., MMWR Surveill Summ 66:1-16, 2017). Contact sports athletes often experience repetitive TBI (rTBI), which exerts a cumulative effect later in life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriterpenes, consisting of six isoprene units, are one of the largest classes of natural compounds in plants. The genus Taraxacum is in the family Asteraceae and is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Various triterpenes, especially taraxerol and taraxasterol, are present in Taraxacum plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Protopanaxatriol (PPT) is an aglycone of ginsenosides, which has high medicinal values. Production of PPT from natural ginseng plants requires artificial deglycosylation procedures of ginsenosides via enzymatic or physicochemical treatments. Metabolic engineering could be an efficient technology for production of ginsenoside sapogenin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Interspecific ginseng hybrid, × () has vigorous growth and produces larger roots than its parents. However, F progenies are complete male sterile. Plant tissue culture technology can circumvent the issue and propagate the hybrid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKalopanax septemlobus, commonly named the castor aralia tree, is a highly valued woody medicinal tree belonging to the family Araliaceae. Kalopanax septemlobus contains approximately 15 triterpenoid saponins primarily constituted of hederagenin aglycones. Hederagenin is a representative precursor for hemolytic saponin in plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBenzoic acids (BAs) are important structural elements in a wide variety of essential compounds and natural products, and play crucial roles in plant fitness. BA is a precursor of diverse benzenoid compounds, including the hormone salicylic acid (SA) and the aglycone moiety of salicin, which is particularly important in the Salicaceae family. The biosynthetic pathways leading to BA formation in plants are largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProduction of compound K (a ginsenoside saponin) and its precursors in transgenic tobacco resulted in stunted growth and seed set failure, which may be caused by strong autotoxicity of heterologously produced phytochemicals against the tobacco itself. Panax ginseng roots contain various saponins (ginsenosides), which are major bioactive compounds. A monoglucosylated saponin, compound K (20-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)-20(S)-protopanaxadiol), has high medicinal and cosmetic values but is present in undetectable amounts in naturally grown ginseng roots.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSiberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) is a woody medical shrub belonging to the Araliaceae family. E. senticosus contains various types of saponins, including oleanane, noroleanane, lupane, and 3,4-secolupane types, depending on the aglycone structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The low survival rate of regenerated plantlets after transfer to soil is the main obstacle for their successful micropropagation and molecular breeding. In most cases, young plantlets converted from somatic embryos are transferred to soil.
Methods: thickened taproots, which were produced after prolonged culture of ginseng plantlets, were transferred to soil.