Elicitor-induced activity of isorinic acid 3'-hydroxylase, an enzyme catalyzing the final step of rosmarinic acid biosynthesis in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures

Abstract

Isorinic acid 3� -hydroxylase (IA3� H) catalyzes a final step in the biosynthetic pathway leading to rosmarinic acid (RA). IA3� H activity was detected in a microsomal fraction prepared from cultured cells of Lithospermum erythrorhizon. Addition of yeast extract or methyl jasmonate to the cell suspension cultures drastically increased IA3� H activity in parallel with increased RA production, whereas addition of salicylic acid enhanced neither IA3� H activity nor RA production. These results are consistent with an integral role for IA3� H in biosynthesis of RA in response to elicitation with yeast extract or methyl jasmonate.