Transcriptional profiling of genes involved in steviol glycoside biosynthesis in <i>Stevia rebaudiana</i> bertoni during plant hardening

Abstract

MEP pathway genes in stevia are expressed at higher levels during hardening, a change to vegetative growth from reproductive growth. Although there were higher transcript levels of candidate genes at the initial phase of hardening, the highest stevioside content was found after 30 days of hardening, suggesting translational/posttranslational regulatory mechanisms.