Production of oleanane-type sapogenin in transgenic rice via expression of β-amyrin synthase gene from Panax japonicus C. A. Mey

BACKGROUND: Panax japonicus C. A. Mey. is a rare traditional Chinese herbal medicine that uses ginsenosides as its main active ingredient. Rice does not produce ginsenosides because it lacks a key rate-limiting enzyme (β-amyrin synthase, βAS); however, it produces a secondary metabolite, 2,3-oxidosqualene, which is a precursor for ginsenoside biosynthesis. RESULTS: In the present study, the P. japonicus βAS gene was transformed into the rice cultivar ‘Taijing 9’ using an Agrobacterium-mediated approach, resulting in 68 rice transgenic plants of the T(0) generation. Transfer-DNA (T-DNA) insertion sites in homozygous lines of the T(2) generation were determined by using high-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (hiTAIL-PCR) and were found to vary among the tested lines. Approximately 1–2 copies of the βAS gene were detected in transgenic rice plants. Real-time PCR and Western blotting analyses showed that the transformed βAS gene could be overexpressed and β-amyrin synthase could be expressed in rice. HPLC analysis showed that the concentration of oleanane-type sapogenin oleanolic acid in transgenic rice was 8.3–11.5 mg/100 g dw. CONCLUSIONS: The current study is the first report on the transformation of P. japonicus βAS gene into rice. We have successfully produced a new rice germplasm, “ginseng rice”, which produces oleanane-type sapogenin.