Enzymes of phenylpropanoid metabolism in the important medicinal plant Melissa officinalis L.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis, Lamiaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant. Amongst the biologically active ingredients are a number of phenolic compounds, the most prominent of which is rosmarinic acid. To obtain better knowledge of the biosynthesis of these phenolic compounds, two enzymes of the general phenylpropanoid pathway, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and 4-coumarate:coenzyme A-ligase (4CL), were investigated in suspension cultures of lemon balm. MoPAL1 and Mo4CL1 cDNAs were cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and the enzymes characterised. Expression analysis of both genes showed a correlation with the enzyme activities and rosmarinic acid content during a cultivation period of the suspension culture. Southern-blot analysis suggested the presence of most probably two gene copies in the M. officinalis genome of both PAL and 4CL. The genomic DNA sequences of MoPAL1 and Mo4CL1 were amplified and sequenced. MoPAL1 contains one phase 2 intron of 836 bp at a conserved site, whilst Mo4CL1 was devoid of introns.