Phenylpropanoids are naturally occurring compounds that exert beneficial pharmacological effects on human health. Phenylpropanoids can act as antioxidants and are involved in resistance to ultraviolet light and cancer; these compounds possess anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antibacterial activity, and aid in wound healing. The expression of genes involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and consequent accumulation of phenylpropanoids in wheat sprout under conditions of stress, have not been extensively studied. This is the first study to examine the effects of light-emitting diodes (LED) on the expression of genes involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and accumulation of phenylpropanoids in wheat sprouts. Our results, obtained using qRT-PCR and HPLC analyses, indicate that white light (380 nm) was the optimal wavelength for epicatechin biosynthesis in wheat sprouts. Compared with the effects of white light, blue light (470 nm) enhanced the accumulation of gallic acid and quercetin, but decreased the levels of p-coumaric acid and epicatechin; red light (660 nm) increased the accumulation of ferulic acid at 8 day and p-coumaric acid at 12 day. Compared gene expression with phenylpropanoid content showed that TaPAL3, TaPAL4, and TaDFR maybe important genes in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in wheat sprout. This study provides insights into the effects of led lights on phenylpropanoid production in wheat sprouts. This knowledge will help improve secondary metabolite production in wheat sprouts.

Charantin, a natural cucurbitane type triterpenoid, has been reported to have beneficial pharmacological functions such as anticancer, antidiabetic, and antibacterial activities. However, accumulation of charantin in bitter melon has been little studied. Here, we performed a transcriptome analysis to identify genes involved in the triterpenoid biosynthesis pathway in bitter melon seedlings. A total of 88,703 transcripts with an average length of 898 bp were identified in bitter melon seedlings. On the basis of a functional annotation, we identified 15 candidate genes encoding enzymes related to triterpenoid biosynthesis and analyzed their expression in different organs of mature plants. Most genes were highly expressed in flowers and/or fruit from the ripening stages. An HPLC analysis confirmed that the accumulation of charantin was highest in fruits from the ripening stage, followed by male flowers. The accumulation patterns of charantin coincide with the expression pattern of McSE and McCAS1, indicating that these genes play important roles in charantin biosynthesis in bitter melon. We also investigated optimum light conditions for enhancing charantin biosynthesis in bitter melon and found that red light was the most effective wavelength.

Carotenoids, found in the fruit and different organs of bitter melon (), have attracted great attention for their potential health benefits in treating several major chronic diseases. Therefore, study related to the identification and quantification of the medically important carotenoid metabolites is highly important for the treatment of various disorderes. The present study involved in the identification and quantification of the various carotenoids present in the different organs of and the identification of the genes responsible for the accumulation of the carotenoids with respect to the transcriptome levels were investigated. In this study, using the transcriptome database of bitter melon, a partial-length cDNA clone encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (), and several full-length cDNA clones encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (), zeta-carotene desaturase (), lycopene beta-cyclase (), lycopene epsilon cyclases ( and ), beta-carotene hydroxylase (), and zeaxanthin epoxidase () were identified in bitter melon The expression levels of the mRNAs encoding these eight putative biosynthetic enzymes, as well as the accumulation of lycopene, α-carotene, lutein, 13Z-β-carotene, E-β-carotene, 9Z-β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, antheraxanthin, and violaxanthin were investigated in different organs from as well as in the four different stages of its fruit maturation. Transcripts were found to be constitutively expressed at high levels in the leaves where carotenoids were also found at the highest levels Collectively, these results indicate that the putative and enzymes might be key factors in controlling carotenoid content in bitter melon In conclusion, the over expression of the carotenoid biosynthetic genes from crops to increase the yield of these medically important carotenoids.

The effect of salinity (NaCl treatment) on the nutritive value of wheat sprouts was investigated by analyzing the expression of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway genes and the levels of phenylpropanoid compounds. Treatment with various concentrations of NaCl (50, 100, and 200 mM) resulted in increased epicatechin levels but decreased accumulation of catechin hydrate, benzoic acid, and quercetin compounds in the sprouts compared with the control (0 mM). The trans-cinnamic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid, epicatechin, and total phenylpropanoid level in wheat sprout was the highest at 50 mM of NaCl treatment. Six-day-old wheat plantlets exposed to 50 mM NaCl for 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h, showed that the total phenylpropanoids accumulation was the highest at 48 h after the treatment and most of the treatments showed higher phenylpropanoid content than the control at the same time points. Although the shoot and root length and the fresh weight of wheat sprouts decreased with NaCl treatment, these results suggest that treatment of 50 mM NaCl improves the nutritional quality of wheat sprouts, due to increased phenylpropanoid concentrations.

Phenylpropanoids and flavonoids belong to a large group of secondary metabolites, and are considered to have antioxidant activity, which protects the cells against biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the accumulation of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids in bitter melon has rarely been studied. Here, we identify ten putative phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthetic genes in bitter melon. Most genes were highly expressed in leaves and/or flowers. HPLC analysis showed that rutin and epicatechin were the most abundant compounds in bitter melon. Rutin content was the highest in leaves, whereas epicatechin was highly accumulated in flowers and fruits. The accumulation patterns of trans-cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, kaempferol, and rutin coincide with the expression patterns of McPAL, McC4H, McCOMT, McFLS, and Mc3GT, respectively, suggesting that these genes play important roles in phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis in bitter melon. In addition, we also investigated the optimum light conditions for enhancing phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis and found that blue light was the most effective wavelength for enhanced accumulation of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids in bitter melon.

Glucosinolates are secondary metabolites that play important roles in plant defense and human health, as their production in plants is enhanced by overexpressing transcription factors. Here, four cabbage transcription factors (IQD1−1, IQD1−2, MYB29−1, and MYB29−2) affecting genes in both aliphatic and indolic glucosinolates biosynthetic pathways and increasing glucosinolates accumulation were overexpressed in watercress. Five IQD1−1, six IQD1−2, five MYB29−1, six MYB29−2, and one GUS hairy root lines were created. The expression of all genes involved in glucosinolates biosynthesis was higher in transgenic lines than in the GUS hairy root line, in agreement with total glucosinolates contents, determined by highperformance liquid chromatography. In transgenic IQD1−1 (1), IQD1−2 (4), MYB29−1 (2), and MYB29−2 (1) hairy root lines, total glucosinolates were 3.39-, 3.04-, 2.58-, and 4.69-fold higher than those in the GUS hairy root lines, respectively. These results suggest a central regulatory function for IQD1−1, IQD1−2, MYB29−1, and MYB29−2 transcription factors in glucosinolates biosynthesis in watercress hairy roots.

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