Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710062, P.R. China.
Genomics. 2011 Oct;98(4):272-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2011.03.012. Epub 2011 Apr 5.
Medicinal Salvia miltiorrhiza is a Chinese herb commonly used for treating cardiovascular diseases and neuroasthenic insomnia. However, little is known at the genetics level about how its compounds are synthesized in that plant. Here, we obtained 56,774 unigenes (average length = 467 bases) in its transcriptome by performing Solexa deep sequencing over the entire growing cycle. Unigenes (34,340; 60.49%) were annotated and 2545 unigenes were assigned to specific pathways. Unigenes (1539) were identified as part of five major, secondary-metabolite pathways, covering almost all nodes in the phenylpropanoid and terpenoid pathways. Using Blast search against AGRIS, 1341 unigenes were found homologous to 686 Arabidopsis transcription factor genes. Real-time PCR was also used to verify the spatio-temporal expression patterns of several novel transcripts related to biosynthesis of active ingredients in that species. These results not only enrich the gene resource but also benefit research into its molecular genetics and functional genomics.
药用丹参是一种常用于治疗心血管疾病和神经虚弱性失眠的中国草药。然而，人们对其在植物中化合物的合成机制在基因水平上知之甚少。在这里，我们通过对整个生长周期进行 Solexa 深度测序，从其转录组中获得了 56774 个（平均长度为 467 个碱基）的基因。注释了 34340 个（60.49%）的基因，其中 2545 个基因被分配到特定的途径中。鉴定出 1539 个基因属于五大主要次生代谢途径的一部分，几乎涵盖了苯丙烷和萜烯途径的所有节点。通过与 AGRIS 的 Blast 搜索，发现 1341 个基因与 686 个拟南芥转录因子基因同源。实时 PCR 也被用于验证与该物种活性成分生物合成相关的几个新转录本的时空表达模式。这些结果不仅丰富了基因资源，还有助于研究其分子遗传学和功能基因组学。
