RNAi of Sterol Δ24-Isomerase Implicated Its Involvement in Physalin Biosynthesis in Physalis angulata L.

Physalis angulata is a renowned traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of various conditions. Physalin is the major type of bioactive constituents conferring medicinal properties of P. angulata . Despite the medicinal importance, the pathways leading to physalin are largely unknown. In this study, we employed a transcriptomic approach to identify a Pa24ISO gene from P. angulata . Through heterologous expression in yeast, Pa24ISO was revealed to catalyze an isomerization reaction in converting 24-methylenecholesterol to 24-methyldesmosterol. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the abundance of Pa24ISO transcripts correlated with the accumulation pattern of physalin B in different tissues of P. angulata . A direct role of Pa24ISO in channeling of 24-methylenecholesterol for physalin B biosynthesis was illustrated by suppressing the gene in P. angulata via the VIGS approach. Down-regulation of Pa24ISO led to reduced levels of 24-methyldesmosterol and physalin B, accompanied with an increase of campesterol content in P. angulata . The results supported that 24ISO is involved in physalin biosynthesis in plants.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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