The endophyte secondary metabolite phenazine-1-carboxylic acid promotes tanshinone biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza callus
- 1Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Misasagi, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto, 607-8412 Japan
Abstract
Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional medicinal plant widely used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Tanshinones, including cryptotanshinone, a major bioactive constituent, exhibit various pharmacological activities. Therefore, methods for efficiently increasing tanshinone production are urgently needed. Recently, plant endophytes have attracted considerable attention as novel elicitors that promote the production of valuable bioactive compounds. In the present study, we investigated the effects of secondary metabolites produced by endophytes on the biosynthesis and accumulation of tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza. Pseudomonas chlororaphis KPUPH-SMC was identified as an endophyte capable of promoting tanshinone production, and phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) was identified as the metabolite responsible for this activity. Our transcriptome analysis further demonstrated that PCA significantly upregulated the gene expression of tanshinone biosynthetic enzymes (GGPS, CPS, and KSL1). These findings suggest that endophyte-derived secondary metabolites can be used to enhance the biosynthesis of valuable compounds in medicinal plants. This approach represents a promising strategy to improve the quality of herbal medicines.
Graphical abstract:
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-026-02075-w.
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BibTeX
@article{hamai2026endophyte,
title = {{The endophyte secondary metabolite phenazine-1-carboxylic acid promotes tanshinone biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza callus}},
author = {Miho Hamai and Anju Ishii and Nozomi Sakamoto and Hiroki Fujioka and Junko Tsukioka and Tomoe Ohta and Seikou Nakamura and Takahiro Matsumoto},
journal = {Journal of Natural Medicines},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s11418-026-02075-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-026-02075-w},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The endophyte secondary metabolite phenazine-1-carboxylic acid promotes tanshinone biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza callus
AU - Miho Hamai
AU - Anju Ishii
AU - Nozomi Sakamoto
AU - Hiroki Fujioka
AU - Junko Tsukioka
AU - Tomoe Ohta
AU - Seikou Nakamura
AU - Takahiro Matsumoto
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Journal of Natural Medicines
DO - 10.1007/s11418-026-02075-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-026-02075-w
AB - Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional medicinal plant widely used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Tanshinones, including cryptotanshinone, a major bioactive constituent, exhibit various pharmacological activities. Therefore, methods for efficiently increasing tanshinone production are urgently needed. Recently, plant endophytes have attracted considerable attention as novel elicitors that promote the production of valuable bioactive compounds. In the present study, we investigated the effects of secondary metabolites produced by endophytes on the biosynthesis and accumulation of tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza. Pseudomonas chlororaphis KPUPH-SMC was identified as an endophyte capable of promoting tanshinone production, and phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) was identified as the metabolite responsible for this activity. Our transcriptome analysis further demonstrated that PCA significantly upregulated the gene expression of tanshinone biosynthetic enzymes (GGPS, CPS, and KSL1). These findings suggest that endophyte-derived secondary metabolites can be used to enhance the biosynthesis of valuable compounds in medicinal plants. This approach represents a promising strategy to improve the quality of herbal medicines. Graphical abstract: Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-026-02075-w.
SN - 1340-3443
SN - 1861-0293
ER -