Effect of methyl jasmonate on resveratrol production in organs and cell suspension cultures of two Iranian grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars

Abstract

SummaryResveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxy stilbene) is a polyphenolic compound that prevents cancer, as well as heart and vascular diseases in humans. In our previous study, this compound was extracted primarily from the fruit of 147 Iranian grapevine cultivars and determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Among these cultivars, the two most desirable (‘Rajabi Sefid Shiraz’ and ‘Keshmeshi Ghermez’) were selected for the present study and the amounts of resveratrol in their leaves and fruit were measured. Levels of resveratrol in the fruit of both cultivars were higher than in their leaves, and samples treated with 1.0 mM methyl jasmonate produced more resveratrol than the untreated controls. Leaf or fruit callus and cell suspension cultures of both cultivars were established and the levels of resveratrol produced were determined. Calli were produced from leaf and fruit explants after 4 weeks and 6 weeks in culture, respectively. Cells derived from calli of both types of explant were then established in suspension culture after three sub-cultures and also produced resveratrol. Cell suspensions were treated with 0.1 mM methyl jasmonate 6 d after the third sub-culture, when they had entered the exponential growth stage. The levels of resveratrol produced by methyl jasmonate-treated cells were significantly higher than those in plant organs or in untreated control cells.