Optimization of hairy root induction in Catharanthus roseus medicinal plant by different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Catharanthus roseus is a medicinal plant belonging to the family Apocynaceae which produces terpenoid indole alkaloids of high medicinal importance.The development of genetically transformed plant tissue cultures and mainly of roots transformed by Agrobacterium rhizogenes, is a key step in the use of in vitro cultures for the production of secondary metabolites. Hairy root induction is the result of the infection of plant tissues with A. rhizogenes and subsequently integration of root induction plasmid T-DNA into the plant genome and its subsequent expression. Many strains of A. rhizogenes exist and have been used for plant transformation. In this study, the effect of three strains of A. rhizogenes (A۴, A۷ and A۱۳) and two explants type (leaf and stem) on hairy root induction in C. roseus were investigated. The results showed that in leaf explants, maximum hairy roots induction (۶۵%) was obtained in explants that infected with A. rhizogenes A۴ strain. While, in A۷ and A۱۳ strains ۲۵% and ۱۳%, respectively, hairy root induction was observed. Also, according to the results, in stem explants, different strains of A. rhizogenes were not able to produce hairy roots. The selection of an effective Agrobacterium strain for the production of transformed root cultures significantly depends on the plant species and must be determined empirically. The differences in virulence, morphology, and growth rate are at least partially related to the variety of Ri (root inducing)-plasmids within each bacterial strain.

کلیدواژه ها:

Agrobacterium rhizogenesis ، Bacteria strains ، Catharanthus roseus ، Explant ، Hairy root