Institute of Biodiversity, College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen, 041004, China.
Mol Biol Rep. 2013 Jul;40(7):4301-10. doi: 10.1007/s11033-013-2517-3. Epub 2013 May 4.
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge is a well-known material of traditional Chinese medicine. Hydrophilic phenolic acids, such as rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B, are a group of pharmaceutically important compounds in S. miltiorrhiza. The biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid requires the coordination of the phenylpropanoid pathway and the tyrosine-derived pathway. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is the first key enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway. Systematic analysis of the SmPAL gene family has not been carried out. We report here the identification of three SmPALs through searching the recently obtained working draft of the S. miltiorrhiza genome and full-length cDNA cloning. Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses showed that SmPAL1 and SmPAL3 clustered in a sub-clade of dicot PALs, whereas SmPAL2 fell into the other one. Some important cis-elements were conserved in three SmPAL promoters, whereas the others were not. SmPAL1 and SmPAL3 were highly expressed in roots and leaves of S. miltiorrhiza, but SmPAL2 were predominately expressed in stems and flowers. It indicates that SmPAL1 and SmPAL3 function redundantly in rosmarinic acid biosynthesis. All SmPALs were induced in roots treated with PEG and MeJA, but the time and degree of responses were different, suggesting the complexity of SmPAL-associated metabolic network in S. miltiorrhiza. This is the first comprehensive study dedicated to SmPAL gene family characterization. The results provide a basis for elucidating the role of SmPAL genes in the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds.
丹参是一种著名的中药药材。迷迭香酸和丹酚酸 B 等亲水性酚酸类化合物是丹参中一组具有重要药用价值的化合物。迷迭香酸的生物合成需要苯丙素途径和酪氨酸衍生途径的协调。苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）是苯丙素途径的第一个关键酶。尚未对 SmPAL 基因家族进行系统分析。我们通过搜索最近获得的丹参工作草案基因组和全长 cDNA 克隆，在此报告了通过搜索最近获得的丹参工作草案基因组和全长 cDNA 克隆，鉴定了三个 SmPAL。生物信息学和系统发育分析表明，SmPAL1 和 SmPAL3 聚类在双子叶植物 PAL 的一个亚类中，而 SmPAL2 则属于另一个亚类。三个 SmPAL 启动子中保守了一些重要的顺式元件，而其他则没有。SmPAL1 和 SmPAL3 在丹参的根和叶中高度表达，但 SmPAL2 主要在茎和花中表达。这表明 SmPAL1 和 SmPAL3 在迷迭香酸生物合成中具有冗余功能。所有 SmPAL 都在根中用 PEG 和 MeJA 处理后诱导表达，但响应的时间和程度不同，这表明丹参中 SmPAL 相关代谢网络的复杂性。这是首次对 SmPAL 基因家族特征进行的全面研究。研究结果为阐明 SmPAL 基因在生物活性化合物生物合成中的作用提供了依据。
