Avaliação de silenciamento gênico pós-transcricional (PTGS) de tropinona redutases em plantas de Hyoscyamus muticus L.

Abstract

The tropane alkaloids (TA) pathway has a branch-point controlled by the enzymes tropinone reductase 1 and 2 (TR1 and TR2). Tropinone is the common substrate for these enzymes and is reduced either by TR1 to form tropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine or by TR2 to form pseudotropine and calystegines. Hyoscyamine and scopolamine are largely used in medicine as anticholinergic, antiemetic, parasympatholytic and anaesthetic. Calystegines mimic different sugars and are potent and specific inhibitors of glucosidases. The function of hyoscyamine, scopolamine and calystegines in the plants is not fully understood. Recent studies suggest that they are involved in the plant defense against pathogens. Regulation of TA biosynthesis in planta has attracted interest not only in view of its applications in the pharmaceutical industry, but also in respect to human nutrition and plant physiology. In the present study a virus-based transgenic approach devised to induce PTGS of tr1 and tr2 in whole transformed Hyoscyamus muticus plants is evaluated. It was observed that a significant reduction in transcript accumulation for tr2 caused a tremendous increase in transcript accumulation for tr1.