Impacts of Drought Stress on Morphine Biosynthesis in Papaver somniferum

Yamchi, Ahad; Nasrollahnezhad Ghomi, Ali Asghar; Hemati, Shokooh; Ramezanpour, Seyedeh Sanaz

Impacts of Drought Stress on Morphine Biosynthesis in Papaver somniferum

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Ahad Yamchi

Ali Asghar Nasrollahnezhad Ghomi

Shokooh Hemati

Seyedeh Sanaz Ramezanpour

Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Abstract

Papaver somniferum L. represents an esteemed medicinal flora that encompasses benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs), such as codeine, morphine, berberine, sanguinarine, and papaverine. The expression levels of three pivotal genes (T6ODM, COR, and CODM) implicated in the morphine biosynthetic pathway were scrutinized in capsule cells subjected to varying degrees of drought stress. Poppy seeds were cultivated in pots within a greenhouse environment, and drought treatments were instituted during the flowering phase. Capsules were collected at distinct drought stress gradients, encompassing field capacity (FC) of 100% (control), FC 80%, FC 60%, FC 40%, and FC 20% (stress treatment). This investigation was executed employing a completely randomized design with three replications. The experimental treatments encompassed differing intensities of drought stress, and the parameters evaluated included gene expression and alterations in morphine concentration within poppy capsule cells. RNA was isolated from the specimens, and complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized. The expression of the T6ODM gene exhibited a significant elevation after stress at 40% FC compared with control specimens (p< 0.01). In contrast, the expression levels of the COR and CODM genes declined across all drought stress conditions when juxtaposed with control specimens (p< 0.01). The variation in morphine concentration in capsule cells under disparate drought stress conditions paralleled the expression of the T6ODM gene, demonstrating an uptick in morphine following stress at 40% FC (p< 0.01). Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis disclosed a substantial correlation between morphine content and the expression of the T6ODM gene (p< 0.01) in the capsule cells.

Keywords

CODM gene

COR gene

Poppy plant

T6ODM gene

Water stress

Subjects

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

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