Short Lecture "Metabolodynamic analysis of metal ions as elicitors of steroidal saponins biosynthesis in Agave salmiana in vitro cultures"

Agave salmiana is a Mexican domestic Agave originally used for alcoholic beverage production, but recently studied as a potential source of steroidal saponins, a key raw material for steroidal drug synthesis. Multiple studies have demonstrated the viability of metal ions as elicitors of saponins biosynthesis in Agave, but approaches oriented to understand the dynamic behaviour of such adaptive response have not yet been explored. To bridge this gap, the saponin profile and phenological characteristics of in vitro cultures of A. salmiana under elicitation treatments with 15, 60, and 150 mM macronutrient (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) and 25, 100 and 250 µM micronutrient (Co²⁺, Cu²⁺and Cd²⁺) metal ions were tracked during five months. Saponins were identified and measured using HPLC-ELSD and UPLC-MS, while chlorophyll A/B ratio, biomass, and leaf and root number and length were measured for health monitoring. Biomass accumulation was hindered by increasing concentrations of macronutrient ions, while micronutrients impacted root structure and chlorophyll content. Saponin analysis revealed that concentrations of chlorogenin glycoside 2 (CG2) and hecogenin glycoside 2 (HG2) remained constant across treatments, while amounts of CG1, HG1, tigogenin G1 (TG1) and two unidentified saponins varied with ion identity and concentration in non-linear dose response effects. Moreover, saponin content and diversity increased over time and then decreased following full plant adaption to metal stress. This study demonstrates that the modulatory effect of metal ions on saponin profiles of A. salmiana in vitro cultures depends conjointly on ion identity, concentration, and treatment duration.

 

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023