Expression of 4 Genes in Ocimum basilicum and their Relationship with Phenylpropanoids Content

Recent data showed that phenylpropanoid compound, methylchavicol is essential component of Iranian cultivars of basil. Studying their occurrence during development of plant may help to elucidate the role of phenylpropanoids in plant cell physiology. We followed the phenylpropanoids concentration and the expression of genes related to their biosynthesis during growth and development of two cultivars of Iranian basil. Cinnamate 4- hydroxylase (C4H), 4- Coumarate CoA ligase (4CL), Eugenol O- methyltransferase (EOMT) and Chavicol O-methyl transferase (CVOMT) are known as key enzymes regulating phenylpropanoids production. The yield of essential oils and concentration of phenylpropanoid, methylchavicol, increased during growth of the plant to reach a peak before pre-flowering stage. Gene expression analyses showed that the expression of the genes encoding C4H, 4CL, EOMT and CVOMT are increased during the plant development in parallel to the methylchavicol reaching a maximum before pre-flowering. These correlations showed that the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid may regulated at transcriptional level.