Plant Genetic Research
Scientific Journal

The Effect of Tryptophan Elicitor and Drought Stress on Some Morphological Characteristics of the Medicinal Plant Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L.) and Expression Pattern of Str and Tdc Genes

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Farshid Yousefi 1
Alireza Abdali Mashhadhi 1
Amin Lotfi 1
Alireza Shafeinia 1
Saeed Jalili 2
Narges Soltani 3

1 Production Engineering and Plant Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran

2 Department of Water Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran

3 Production Engineering and Plant Genetics Department, Faculty of Agricultures, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/pgr.2024.11.2.2
Abstract
The plant periwinkle (Madagascan periwinkle) plant (Catharanthus roseus L.), an ornamental and medicinal herb, is indigenous to Madagascar and tropical regions. It is valued for its high phenolic compounds content as well as significant commercial medicinal alkaloids, including ajmalicine, vincristine, and vinblastine. C. roseus (Vinca) exhibits prominent therapeutic properties, including anti-cancer effect, antihypertensive activity, wound-healing effects, and blood-purifying potentials. It is also used to treat human skin disorders such as eczema, as well as urinary tract infections and bronchial inflammation. The cultivation of C. roseus is subject to various environmental stresses, particularly drought, which profoundly impacts its biochemical profiles and the production of secondary metabolites. The application of certain elicitors, notably the tryptophan amino acid, has been shown to alleviate the detrimental effects of drought stress and enhance the overall quality of agricultural products, thereby improving plant performance. Moreover, tryptophan is recognized as a precursor in the alkaloid biosynthesis pathway. Consequently, it is plausible that the combination of drought stress with foliar application of tryptophan may elevate the levels of plant metabolites, particularly vinblastine and vincristine alkaloids.

Keywords

Alkaloids
Madagascar periwinkle
Root
Vinblastine and vincristine
Plant Genetic Research
Volume 11, Issue 2
December 2024
Pages 15-28

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