Jasmonate-responsive transcriptional regulation in Catharanthus roseus

• Main Author: Zhang, H.
• Other Authors: Memelink, J., Leiden University
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Catharanthus rosens; Factor; Jasmonate; Regulation; Transcription; Orca
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13223

Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites. In Catharanthus roseus, several have pharmaceutical applications, including the monomeric alkaloids serpentine and ajmalicine, which are used as a tranquillizer and to reduce hypertension, respectively, and the dimeric alkaloids vincristine and vinblastine, which are potent antitumour drugs. Jasmonic acid (JA) is a key defense hormone, which controls the expression of several alkaloid biosynthesis genes in Catharanthus. The JA-responsive expression is controlled by the AP2-domain transcription factors ORCA2 and ORCA3. The results in this thesis demonstrate that JA-responsive ORCA expression is controlled by an up-stream positive regulator, whose activities are affected by a family of repressors. Understanding the regulation mechanism may help to generate a very valuable tool for engineering the production of valuable secondary metabolites. UBL - phd migration 2018