EXPRESSION BIOSYNTHESIS SAPONIN CK GENES IN Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Ginsenoside compound K or saponin CK found in ginseng is a type of triterpenoid with high biological activity, which has great effects in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, immunity, nervous system, cardiovascular diseases, etc. In this study, three genes closely related to CK synthesis in Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) including Dammaranediol synthesis (PgDDs) and Protopanaxadiol (PgPPDs), saccharifying enzyme PgUGT71A27 and tHMGR enzyme (enzyme enhancing the Mevalonic acid synthesis pathway) of Arabidopsis thaliana were transformed into wild type plants (Col-0) by gene transfer method using Agrobacterium bacteria carrying cloning vector. Homozygous lines in the F2 generation carrying recombinant vector were used and analyzed to evaluate gene expression levels by qRT-PCR method to select individuals carrying homozygous genes and expressing the most strongly the transferred genes. Then, total saponin was extracted from 10-day-old seedlings with methanol to quantify Saponin. The research results successfully synthesized saponin CK on Arabidopsis thaliana. The success of this research is the premise for creating high-yield agricultural crops with short growing periods, with the aim of collecting biomass of the saponin CK from these plants to serve the purpose of production such as: Industrial production purposes, supplement to animal feed.