Lotus (
Nelumbo nucifera
Gaertn.) contains various bioactive
compounds, with benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) as one of the
major groups. The biosynthetic pathways of two major bioactive BIAs
in this plant, nuciferine and
N
-nornuciferine, are
still not clear. Therefore, several genes related to BIA biosynthesis
were searched from the lotus database to study the role of key genes
in regulating these pathways. In this study, the expression profiles
of
NCS
,
CNMT
, 6
OMT
,
CYP
80
G
2, and
WRKY TFs
were investigated in mechanically wounded lotus leaves. It was found
that the accumulation of nuciferine and
N
-nornuciferine
significantly increased in the mechanically wounded lotus leaves in
accordance with the relative expression of putative
CYP
80
G
2 and one WRKY transcription factor (
NNU_
24385), with the coregulation of
CNMT
. Furthermore, the role of methyltransferase-related genes in this
study suggested that methylation of the isoquinoline nucleus to yield
a methylated-BIA structure may occur at the N position before the
O position. Altogether, this study provides improved understanding
of the genes regulating BIA biosynthesis under stressed conditions,
which could lead to improvements in BIA production from the commercial
lotus.
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