In Planta Reporter Assay Demonstrated the Inherent Potential of Turmeric as a Natural Hypo-Methylating Agent in Cultivated Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

The current research seeks to assess the inherent potential (if any) of turmeric (TMC) as an epigenetic modulator in plants. To monitor its specific effects on gene-activation, we used a well-established in planta reporter assay system based on cultivated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) as a model system harbouring an epigenetically-silenced (hyper-methylation in specific) neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) transgene driven by cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (PCaMV35S). Our results showed that the exposure of tobacco plantlets to an empirically optimized concentration [i.e., 2.5% (v/v)] of aqueous TMC extract (TMCE) causes the: (1) restoration of non-silenced plant phenotype on kanamycin selection media, (2) induced steady-state nptII transcript levels and (3) DNA hypo-methylation of 5'-UTR nptII sub-region. Based on these observations, a general role of TMC as a DNA hypo-methylating agent in plants growth and development has been anticipated.