Amaryllidaceae alkaloids: identification and partial characterization of montanine production in Rhodophiala bifida plant

Rhodophiala bifida (R. bifida) is a representative of the Amaryllidaceae plant family and is rich in montanine, an alkaloid with high pharmaceutical potential. Despite the interest in these compounds, many steps of the biosynthetic pathway have not been elucidated. In this study, we identified the alkaloids produced in different organs of R. bifida under different growth conditions, set up the conditions for in vitro R. bifida regeneration and initiated the molecular characterization of two R. bifida genes involved in alkaloids biosynthesis: the Norbelladine 4′-O-Methyltransferase (RbN4OMT) and the Cytochrome P450 (RbCYP96T). We show that montanine is the main alkaloid produced in the different R. bifida organs and developed a direct organogenesis regeneration protocol, using twin-scale explants cultivated on media enriched with naphthalene acetic acid and benzyladenine. Finally, we analyzed the RbN4OMT and RbCYP96T gene expressions in different organs and culture conditions and compared them to alkaloid production. In different organs of R. bifida young, adult and regenerated plants, as well as under various growing conditions, the transcripts accumulation was correlated with the production of alkaloids. This work provides new tools to improve the production of this important pharmaceutical compound and for future biotechnological studies.