Early changes in gene expression induced by acute UV exposure in leaves of Psychotria brachyceras, a bioactive alkaloid accumulating plant.

UV-B radiation can damage biomolecules, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, halting essential cellular processes; this damage is partly due to ROS generation. Plant secondary metabolites may protect against UV-B. Psychotria brachyceras Müll. Arg. (Rubiaceae), a subtropical shrub, produces brachycerine, a monoterpene indole alkaloid mainly accumulated in leaf tissues, which displays antioxidant and antimutagenic activities. Exposure of P. brachyceras cuttings to UV-B radiation significantly increases leaf brachycerine concentration. It has been suggested that this alkaloid might contribute to protection against UV-B damage both through its quenching activity on ROS and as UV shield. To identify differentially expressed genes of P. brachyceras in response to UV-B and investigate a possible influence of this stimulus on putative brachycerine-related genes, suppressive subtractive hybridization was applied. Complementary DNA from UV-B-treated leaves for 24 h was used as tester, and cDNA from untreated leaves, as driver. After BLASTX alignments, 134 sequences matched plant genes. Using quantitative RT-PCR, selected genes potentially related to brachycerine showed significant increases in transcription after UV-B exposure: tryptophan decarboxylase, ACC oxidase, UDP-glucose glucosyltransferase, lipase, and serine/threonine kinase. Results suggest a possible involvement of brachycerine in acute UV-B responses and show that alkaloid accumulation seems at least partly regulated at transcriptional level.