Parthenolide is a sesquiterpene lactone compound which has anti-migraine and anti-cancer properties. Biotic elicitors such as methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA) influence secondary metabolism in plants. In the present work, effects of MJ and SA elicitors were studied on the expression of biosynthetic genes of parthenolide on feverfew leaves. GAS, GAO, COS, PTS and PTH genes expression were evaluated using real time PCR in a time course experiment (3-96 h). Results showed that MJ and SA differentially elevated transcript levels of studied genes. In addition, gene expression intensities of different genes were not same; showing their probable relationships with parthenolide content. Based on the obtained results application of biotic elicitors could be used as a good strategy to achieve high yield of parthenolide in feverfew.
