Abstract
Ocimum species commonly referred to as “Tulsi” are well-known for their distinct medicinal and aromatic properties. The characteristic aroma of Ocimum species and cultivars is attributed to their specific combination of volatile phytochemicals mainly belonging to terpenoid and/or phenylpropanoid classes in their essential oils. The essential oil constituents are synthesized and sequestered in specialized epidermal secretory structures called as glandular trichomes. In this comparative study, inter- and intra-species diversity in structural attributes and profiles of expression of selected genes related to terpenoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathways have been investigated. This is performed to seek relationship of variations in the yield and phytochemical composition of the essential oils. Microscopic analysis of trichomes of O. basilicum, O. gratissimum, O. kilimandscharicum, and O. tenuiflorum (green and purple cultivars) revealed substantial variations in density, size, and relative proportions of peltate and capitate trichomes among them. The essential oil yield has been observed to be controlled by the population, dominance, and size of peltate and capitate glandular trichomes. The essential oil sequestration in leaf is controlled by the dominance of peltate glandular trichome size over its number and is also affected by the capitate glandular trichome size/number with variations in leaf area albeit at lower proportions. Comprehension and comparison of results of GC-MS analysis of essential oils showed that most of the Ocimum (O. basilicum, O. tenuiflorum, and O. gratissimum) species produce phenylpropanoids (eugenol, methyl chavicol) as major volatiles except O. kilimandscharicum, which is discrete in being monoterpenoid-rich species. Among the phenylpropanoid-enriched Ocimum (O. basilicum, O. gratissimum, O. tenuiflorum purple, O. tenuiflorum green) as well, terpenoids were important constituents in imparting characteristic aroma. Further, comparative abundance of transcripts of key genes of phenylpropanoid (PAL, C4H, 4CL, CAD, COMT, and ES) and terpenoid (DXS and HMGR) biosynthetic pathways was evaluated vis-à-vis volatile oil constituents. Transcript abundance demonstrated that richness of their essential oils with specific constituent(s) of a chemical group/subgroup was manifested by the predominant upregulation of phenylpropanoid/terpenoid pathway genes. The study provides trichomes as well as biosynthetic pathway-based knowledge for genetic improvement in Ocimum species for essential oil yield and quality.
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Abbreviations
- OB:
-
Ocimum basilicum
- OG:
-
Ocimum gratissimum
- OK:
-
Ocimum kilimandscharicum
- OSG:
-
Ocimum tenuiflorum (syn. Ocimum sanctum) green
- OSP:
-
Ocimum tenuiflorum (syn. Ocimum sanctum) purple
- SEM:
-
scanning electron microscopy
- PGTD:
-
peltate glandular trichome density
- PGTS:
-
peltate glandular trichome size
- CGTD:
-
capitate glandular trichome density
- CGTS:
-
capitate glandular trichome size
- PAL:
-
phenylalanine ammonia lyase
- C4H:
-
cinnamate-4-hydroxylase
- 4CL:
-
4-coumarate-CoA ligase
- CAD:
-
cinnamoyl alcohol dehydrogenase
- COMT:
-
caffeoyl-CoA-methyltransferase
- ES:
-
eugenol synthase
- HMGR:
-
3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase
- DXS:
-
1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase
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Acknowledgments
SM acknowledges the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) for registration of Ph.D. program.
Funding
The authors are thankful to HCP-007, BSC-203, and BSC-107 CSIR network project for providing financial assistance. MC is thankful to CSIR, New Delhi and UGC, New Delhi for research fellowship.
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NSS conceived and devised the whole study plan. NSS, RSS, SM, and MC wrote the manuscript. SM, MC, RKY, and LKN conducted experiments. SM, PPS, US, DK, SB, RSS, MC, and LKN helped in resource and data generation. NSS supervised at each stage.
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Highlights
• Inter- and intra-specific diversity in phytochemicals, trichome types, and abundance
• Number and size of peltate trichomes are the key determinants of essential oil accumulation
• Major Ocimum species are phenylpropanoid-rich, whereas O. kilimandscharicum is unique in monoterpenoids
• Compositional diversity is governed by differential expression of key genes of biosynthetic pathway of phytochemical class
Electronic supplementary material
Supplementary Fig. 1
Leaf area of the Ocimum species/cultivars. (OB), O. basilicum; (OG), O. gratissimum; (OK), O. kilimandscharicum; (OSG), O. tenuiflorum green; and (OSP), O. tenuiflorum purple. (DOCX 35 kb)
Supplementary Table 1
List of primers used in real time expression analysis (DOCX 18 kb)
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Maurya, S., Chandra, M., Yadav, R.K. et al. Interspecies comparative features of trichomes in Ocimum reveal insights for biosynthesis of specialized essential oil metabolites. Protoplasma 256, 893–907 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-018-01338-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-018-01338-y