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2023 Vol.41, Issue 6 Preview Page

Research Article

Changes in Rosmarinic Acid Accumulation and Rosmarinic Acid Synthase Gene Expression in Thymus vulgaris L. Influenced by Phenology and Environmental Factors
Eszter Trócsányi1
,
Nóra Gampe2
,
Márta Ladányi3
,
Dóra Szabó4
,
Éva Zámboriné Németh4
,
Zsuzsanna György1*
1Department of Plant Biotechnology, Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
2Department of Pharmacognosy, Semmelweis University, Budapest 1085, Hungary
3Department of Applied Statistics, Institute of Mathematics and Basic Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
4Department of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Institute of Horticultural Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
*Corresponding Author
31 December 2023. pp. 695-708
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Abstract

Thymus vulgaris L. is a commonly used medicinal and culinary plant. It tolerates drought well and contains biologically active polyphenols, among which is rosmarinic acid (RA). The last step of RA biosynthesis is catalyzed by rosmarinic acid synthase (RAS). Expression of the gene encoding for RAS was studied in garden thyme from the vegetative phase until the fruit-bearing phase. In addition, the effects of the temperature and water supply in a climatic chamber on the RAS gene expression and RA accumulation of the plants were studied. The RAS gene expression level decreased until the fruit-bearing phase, at which point it suddenly increased. The RA content and RAS gene expression fluctuated in a basically parallel manner in the climatic chamber, but some anomalies were found. Low (40%) soil water capacity increased the RA content compared to control plants. The highest RA content was 12.7% and the lowest was 0.9%. At cooler temperatures, no difference was found in the RA content of control and drought-stressed plants, whereas at a higher temperature, differences were detected. We found that warmer and drier conditions elevate the garden thyme’s RA content and RAS gene expression, while the temperature alone does not affect these characteristics.

Keywords
drought stress
garden thyme
polyphenols
qPCR
rosmarinic acid biosynthesis
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Information
  • Publisher :KOREAN SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국원예학회
  • Journal Title :Horticultural Science and Technology
  • Journal Title(Ko) :원예과학기술지
  • Volume : 41
  • No :6
  • Pages :695-708
  • Received Date : 2023-10-27
  • Revised Date : 2023-07-26
  • Accepted Date : 2023-08-22
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7235/HORT.20230060
Journal Informaiton Horticultural Science and Technology Horticultural Science and Technology
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