Glycyrrhizin and isoliquiritigenin production by hairy root culture of Glycyrrhiza glabra

Glycyrrhizin and isoliquiritigenin production by hairy root culture of Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) was investigated using Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain AR15834. Hairy roots were induced by inoculation of the leaf and stem explants with A. rhizogenes. Presence of therolB gene in the hairy root lines was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and using rolB gene specific primers. The amount of glycyrrhizin and isoliquiritigenin in roots was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest transformation frequency was obtained (50%) in leaf explants. The obtained results on hairy roots of G. glabra showed two distinguishable phenotypes, typical hairy roots and callus-like roots. In contrast to the previous studies, hairy root cultures of G. glabra synthesized glycyrrhizin in this research. In all of the hairy root lines, biomass and glycyrrhizin production was more than normal roots. The highest amount of glycyrrhizin and isoliquiritigenin was produced in callus-like roots.   Key words: Agrobacterium rhizogenes, Glycyrrhiza glabra, glycyrrhizin, hairy root, isoliquiritigenin.