TY  - BOOK
AU  - Jayath Gowri J
AU  - K K Sabu (Guide)
TI  - Characterization of selected Centella asiatica genotypes using asiaticoside and gene-specific markers
U1  - 660.6 
PY  - 2022///
CY  - Vellayani
PB  - Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture
KW  - Plant Biotechnology
N1  - BSc - MSc (Int.)
N2  - The study entitled “Characterization of selected Centella asiatica genotypes using asiaticoside 
and gene-specific markers” was carried out at the Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Division of 
KSCSTE-JNTBGRI, Palode, during 2021-2022 with the objective to characterize six selected 
accessions of C. asiatica with respect to morphology, asiaticoside production, and gene expression 
profiling.
 Morphological characterization was done with the help of eight quantitative traits. The 
descriptive statistics of the recorded data were performed using Grapes 1.0.0 web application 
designed by KAU. Five of the eight traits exhibited significant variation among the six accessions. 
Leaf area, leaf breadth, leaf thickness, petiole length, and petiole diameter revealed significant 
variation (p<0.05). Quantification using reversed-phase HPLC estimated that CA449 has the 
highest content of both asiaticoside (ASD) and madecassoside (MSD). The lowest ASD content
was found in CA379, while the lowest MSD content was found in CA459. The content of ASD 
ranged from 4.9- 8.8% per 100g dry weight and MSD ranged from 9.7- 15.3% per 100g dry weight 
among the six genotypes.
 Gene expression profiling using real-time PCR revealed that the genes involved in asiaticoside 
biosynthesis (BAS, SQS, and UGT) show the highest expression in CA449 and the lowest 
expression in CA379. To understand the statistical relationship between the variables used in the 
study, correlation analysis was performed with the help of Grapes 1.0.0 web application. ASD 
was highly positively correlated with leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area, and petiole length. MSD 
was found to have a substantial positive correlation with petiole length. The positive correlation 
between secondary metabolites (ASD & MSD) and gene expression of its biosynthetic genes 
suggests that changes in phytochemical components could be attributable to genetic variances.
 The six genotypes have shown significant variation at phenotypic, phytochemical (ASD & 
MSD) and genetic levels. Best character performance was recorded in the accession CA449 with 
highest leaf area, leaf length, leaf breadth, petiole length, number of dentations per leaf, high ASD 
& MSD content and maximum expression of BAS, SQS, and UGT. To summarize, the findings 
offer an initial assessment of natural variation in selected genotypes of C. asiatica, laying the 
groundwork for future breeding purposes
ER  -