effect of salicylic acid on phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and stilbene synthase gene expression in Vitis amurensis Cell Culture

Resveratrol is a phytoalexin with antibacterial, antiviral and cancer-preventing effects. The objective of the study was to identify PAL and STS genes of Vitis amurensis Rupr. encoding the phenylalanine ammonia-lyases (PAL) and stilbene synthases (STS), the key enzymes involved in the resveratrol biosynthesis. A V. amurensis Rupr. cell culture characterized by low resveratrol level was chosen as a model object. Salicylic acid (SA), a known secondary metabolism inducing agent, was used for enhancement of resveratrol production in this culture. PAL and STS gene expression was analyzed using the reverse transcription PCR and real-time PCR techniques. SA was originally found to specifically enhance the expression of VaPAL3, VaSTS2, VaSTS3, VaSTS4, VaSTS5, VaSTS6, and VaSTS8 of multigene families VaPAL and VaSTS. The results obtained were compared with the earlier published data on PAL and STS gene expression in the rolB transformed V. amurensis cell cultures characterized by high levels of resveratrol. The effects of SA treatment and the rolB transformation on VaPAL and VaSTS gene expression were found to be considerably different.