EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT AND GROWTH PHASE ON CURCUMIN PRODUCTION AND DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION IN CU

I. Sriram Sandeep, Sanghamitra Nayak and Sujata Mohanty

Centre of Biotechnology, Siksha O Anusandhan University, India

Abstract

Curcuma longa L., accumulates substantial quantities of curcuminoid curcumin and essential oil. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of environment and growth phase on expression of curcumin synthase (CURS) gene for curcumin yield in two high yielding turmeric cultivars i.e., Surama and Roma. Variation in curcumin content and expression of CURS gene was studied through transcriptional analysis by qRT-PCR. Result revealed that curcumin varied from 1.5 to 5% and 1.4 to 5% in Surama and Roma respectively. The expression of CURS varied from 0.402 to 5.584 fold in Surama and 0.856 to 5.217 fold in Roma. Difference in curcumin content at a particular zone varied from 3.95 to 4.31% in Surama and 3.57 to 3.83% in Roma. Expression of CURS gene was also effected by harvesting time of the rhizome which varied from 7.389 to 16.882 fold in Surama and 4.41 to 8.342 fold in Roma. The expression of CURS gene was irrespective of curcumin content at different zones. This may be due to the variation in soil and environmental conditions. This study provides useful information on molecular and biochemical dynamics of curcumin biosynthesis and could be useful in future genetic improvement of turmeric.

Keywords: Curcuma longa, CURS, curcumin, emvironment, growth phase.