Fuente:
WIPO "tomato"
The present invention provides a process for enhancing secondary metabolite content in Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth, an industrially important and endangered Himalayan medicinal plant. The present invention more particularly relates to the process of modifying the genome of Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus (ToLCPalV) by constructing infectious clones of ToLCPaLV, which consists of a tandem repeat of 1.4 mer (DNA A) and 1.8 mer (DNA B) repeat added to the full genome of the virus. It also involves agro-inoculation (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) of the same to obtain increased secondary metabolite content. ToLCPalV inoculation in the hardened plants of P. kurrooa led to a significant enhancement of secondary metabolites, particularly Picrosides I and II. Further transcriptome analysis revealed the regulation of key genes involved in the phenylpropanoid and MEP pathways, which are picrosides biosynthesis pathway genes during ToLCPalV inoculation. Further, ToLCPalV was also able to enhance secondary metabolite content in V. jatamansi, suggesting a more diverse application in enhancing metabolite content in medicinal plants.