Effect of Aspergillus flavus Fungal Elicitor on the Production of Terpenoid Indole Alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus Cambial Meristematic Cells

This study reported the inducing effect ofAspergillus flavusfungal elicitor on biosynthesis of terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs) inCatharanthus roseuscambial meristematic cells (CMCs) and its inducing mechanism. According to the results determined by HPLC and HPLC-MS/MS, the optimal condition of theA. flavuselicitor was as follows: after suspension culture ofC. roseusCMCs for 6 day, 25 mg/LA. flavusmycelium elicitor were added, and the CMC suspensions were further cultured for another 48 h. In this condition, the contents of vindoline, catharanthine, and ajmaline were 1.45-, 3.29-, and 2.14-times as high as those of the control group, respectively. Transcriptome analysis showed thatD4H,G10H,GES,IRS,LAMT,SGD,STR,TDC, andORCA3were involved in the regulation of this induction process. The results of qRT-PCR indicated that the increasing accumulations of vindoline, catharanthine, and ajmaline inC. roseusCMCs were correlated with the increasing expression of the above genes. Therefore,A. flavusfungal elicitor could enhance the TIA production ofC. roseusCMCs, which might be used as an alternative biotechnological resource for obtaining bioactive alkaloids.Keywords:Catharanthus roseus;cambial meristematic cells;Aspergillus flavus;terpenoid indole alkaloids;biosynthesis