Introduction: Resveratrol is an antioxidant secondary metabolite which belongs to a specific phytoalexins called stilbenes. Grape has been considered as the main source of resveratrol in the human diet. Many studies have been conducted on genus Vitis due to the presence of high levels of polyphenolic compounds in different tissues. In recent years, a lot of effort has been made to increase resveratrol yield in Vitis vinifera via tissue and hairy roots culture.
Materials and Methods: In the present study, hairy roots have been produced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC15834 and successfully produced resveratrol in internode of grape genotype W16. Transformations of hairy roots were recognized by PCR using specific primers of rolB gene. After stimulation, the effect of abiotic elicitors with different concentrations including methyl jasmonate, sodium acetate, acetic acid and ammonium nitrate were tested on the production of hairy root biomass and resveratrol. Resveratrol content was measured by TLC and HPLC methods.
Results: Results showed that the capacity of hairy roots for resveratrol production is higher than natural roots. A significant difference was observed between different elicitors in terms of hairy root biomass and resveratrol amount. Findings revealed that treatment with 3 mM acetic acid and 50 μM methyl jasmonate led to the highest and lowest amount of hairy roots biomass and resveratrol content, respectively.
Conclusions: According to the fidings of the present study it can be stated that both hairy roots and different elicitors are effective in biomass and resveratrol production. This method can be used to increase the yield of resveratrol for large scale production via tissue culture.