Manije Sabokdast Nodehi - Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources,University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
Zeynab Azimychetabi - Biology Department, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
Taraneh Karami Moghadam - Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources,University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

Cadmium is one of the heavy metals whose presence in soil induces oxidative stress in plants. This investigation was conducted to determine the modifications in the expression of key genes involved in the biosynthesis of Menthol and Menthofuran, two significant components of peppermint’s essential oil, was measured. To the best of our knowledge, the expression of peppermint genes under heavy metals stress was measured for the first time in this research. The chemical composition of its essential oil, that makes peppermint a valuable herb, was also analyzed to determine the percentages of the principal constituents. Menthol content dropped and menthofuran concentration incremented by augmenting Cd together with pulegone. Increasing Cd amount in the soil was also followed by a reduction in the expression of MR and PR genes.

Cadmium toxicity, Menthone reductase, Menthofuran synthase, Pulegone reductase, Menthol, Menthofuran