Tailoring Tropane Alkaloid Accumulation in Transgenic Hairy Roots of Atropa baetica by Over-expressing the Gene Encoding Hyoscyamine 6β-hydroxylase

Abstract

Atropa baetica hairy roots, over-expressing cDNA from Hyoscyamus niger encoding the gene for hyoscyamine 6beta-hydroxylase (H6H), were produced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes infection. The transgenic roots over-expressing h6h had an altered alkaloid profile in which hyoscyamine was entirely converted into scopolamine. In the best h6h clone, scopolamine accumulation increased 9-fold compared to plants, amounting to 5.6 mg g dry wt(-1), some of which was released into the liquid medium. Only negligible amounts of hyoscyamine were detected. In contrast, the gus control culture contained a much higher amount of hyoscyamine than scopolamine, mimicking the situation in the plant. At the molecular level, a higher conversion of hyoscyamine into scopolamine was related to a higher level of h6h mRNA; in some instances this was 5 - 10-fold higher.