Gene expression of eugenol O - methyl transferase and components of essential oils in (Ocimum basilicum L.) at different stages of growth

Basil (Ocimum basilicum)، a member of a Lamiaceae family، is used in traditional Iranian medicine. Essential oils of basil leaves are composed of phenylpropanoids which are important in treatment of headaches، diarrhea، coughs، warts، worms and kidney malfunctions. Eugenol O-methyl transferase (EOMT) is a key enzyme in phenylpropanoid pathway. It catalyzes the methylation of eugenol، to produce methyleugenol which is original phenylpropanoid compounds in basil. In this research، the level of phenylpropanoid compounds and the expression level of EOMT gene was investigated at different growth stages. The plants cultivated and harvested by hand at 5 growth steps including seedling، with 10 and 50 leaves plants، preflowring and flowering stages. Phenylpropanoid compounds were identified by Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and the level of gene expression was monitored by Semi quantitative RT-PCR. Our results showed that plant growth and maturity both affecte on EOMT gene experession and phenolic contents. The changes observed in phenylpropanoids compound can be as a result of different levels of EOMT gene expression at different growth stage.