Abstract

The influence of the interaction(s) between the medicinal plant Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench and its endophytic communities on the production of alkamides is investigated. To mimic the in vivo conditions, we have set up an infection model of axenic in vitro E. purpurea plants inoculated with a pool of bacterial strains isolated from the E. purpurea stems and leaves. Here we show different alkamide levels between control (not-inoculated) and inoculated plants, suggesting that the alkamide biosynthesis may be modulated by the bacterial infection. Then, we have analysed the branched-chain amino acids (BCCA) decarboxylase gene (GenBank Accession #LT593930; the enzymatic source for the amine moiety formation of the alkamides) expression patterns. The expression profile shows a higher expression level in the inoculated E. purpurea tissues than in the control ones. These results suggest that the plant-endophyte interaction can influence plant secondary metabolism affecting the therapeutic properties of E. purpurea.

Details

Title
Plant-endophytes interaction influences the secondary metabolism in Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench: an in vitro model
Author
Maggini, Valentina 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; De Leo, Marinella 2 ; Mengoni, Alessio 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Gallo, Eugenia Rosaria 4 ; Miceli, Elisangela 3 ; Rose Vanessa Bandeira Reidel 2 ; Biffi, Sauro 5 ; Pistelli, Luisa 2 ; Fani, Renato 3 ; Firenzuoli, Fabio 6 ; Bogani, Patrizia 3 

1  Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence, Italy; Referring Center for Phytotherapy, Tuscany Region, Careggi University Hospital, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence, Italy 
2  Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 33, Pisa, Italy 
3  Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy 
4  Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence, Italy; Referring Center for Phytotherapy, Tuscany Region, Careggi University Hospital, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence, Italy 
5  Botanical Garden Casola Valsenio, Via del Corso 6, Ravenna, Italy 
6  Referring Center for Phytotherapy, Tuscany Region, Careggi University Hospital, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence, Italy 
Pages
1-8
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Dec 2017
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17110-w
ProQuest document ID
1983426273
Copyright
© 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.