@article { ISI:000313009000014,
	title = {Over-expression of a subgroup 4 R2R3 type MYB transcription factor gene from Leucaena leucocephala reduces lignin content in transgenic tobacco},
	journal = {Plant Cell Reports},
	volume = {32},
	number = {1},
	year = {2013},
	month = {JAN},
	pages = {161-171},
	publisher = {SPRINGER},
	address = {233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA},
	abstract = {<p>LlMYB1 , a subgroup 4 R2R3-type MYB transcription factor gene from Leucaena leucocephala appears to be a repressor of lignin biosynthesis pathway by regulating the transcription of general phenylpropanoid pathway genes. R2R3MYB transcription factors are known to play a wide role in regulating the phenylpropanoid pathway in plants. In this study, we report isolation, cloning and characterization of an R2R3MYB transcription factor gene (LlMYB1) from an economically important tree species, Leucaena leucocephala. LlMYB1 consists of 705 bp coding sequence corresponding to 235 amino acids. Sequence alignment revealed that the N-terminal (MYB) domain of the gene shares up to 95 \% similarity with subgroup 4 (Sg4) members of R2R3Myb gene family functionally known to be lignin repressors. Highly divergent C-terminal region of the gene carried an ERF-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motif, another characteristic of the Sg4. The gene was phylogenetically grouped closest with AmMYB308, a known repressor of monolignol biosynthetic pathway genes. Spatio-temporal expression studies at different ages of seedlings using quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR) showed highest transcript level of the gene in 10 day old stem tissues. Over-expression of the gene in transgenic tobacco showed statistically significant decline in the transcript levels of the general phenylpropanoid pathway genes and reduction in lignin content. Our study suggests that LlMYB1 might be playing the role of a repressor of lignin biosynthesis in L. leucocephala.</p>},
	keywords = {Leucaena leucocephala, lignin, R2R3MYB, Repressor, Transcript level},
	issn = {0721-7714},
	doi = {10.1007/s00299-012-1350-9},
	author = {Omer, Sumita and Kumar, Santosh and Khan, Bashir Mohammad}
}
@article { ISI:000358167700015,
	title = {Overexpression of squalene synthase in withania somnifera leads to enhanced withanolide biosynthesis},
	journal = {Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture},
	volume = {122},
	number = {2},
	year = {2015},
	month = {AUG},
	pages = {409-420},
	publisher = {SPRINGER},
	address = {VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS},
	abstract = {<p>Genetic engineering of secondary metabolic pathways is an emerging area of research for production and improvement of natural products in plant biotechnology. Here, we describe a systematic approach to manipulate a key regulatory step of isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway in Withania somnifera to study its effect on withanolide production. We generated T-0 W. somnifera plants overexpressing squalene synthase (WsSQS) by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation, which were analyzed by Gus biochemical assay and PCR of hygromycin phosphotransferase (hptII) and WsSQS. qRT-PCR analyses of various transformed tissues indicated 2-5 fold increase in WsSQS transcripts in both T-0 and T-1 generations. The tissue specific protein expression studies revealed 2-3 fold increase in WsSQS, which was further confirmed by enzyme activity. These observations were corroborated with the 1.5-2 fold increase in total withanolide content of the transformed tissues. However, in leaf tissue, the levels of Withaferin A and Withanolide A increased significantly up to 4-4.5 fold. These findings demonstrate genetic engineering of isoprenoid pathway in W. somnifera resulting in enhanced production of withanolides, and also provide insights into such metabolic pathways for their manipulation to improve the pharmacological content of different medicinally important plants.</p>},
	keywords = {Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Solanaceae, Squalene synthase, Withania somnifera, Withanolides},
	issn = {0167-6857},
	doi = {10.1007/s11240-015-0778-3},
	author = {Patel, Neha and Patel, Parth and Kendurkar, Shuchishweta V. and Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V. and Khan, Bashir Mohammad}
}
