Biotechnology Research Institute, Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 300384, Tianjin, China.
Department of Food Science, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300350, Tianjin, China.
Plant Physiol Biochem. 2021 Jul;164:10-20. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.04.011. Epub 2021 Apr 24.
Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with tanshinone as one of the main bioactive components and has antitumor, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory properties, as well as other physiological functions. Tanshinone, as a secondary metabolite, is synthesized under salt stress or other environmental stresses. Oxidative stress is an important physiological response of plants to salt stress. Transcription factors (TFs) are believed to play regulatory roles in this process, and AP2/ERF TFs have significant effects on defense against the adversity of plants. However, investigations on the regulation of AP2/ERF TFs in tanshinone synthesis under salt stress are limited. In this research, the tanshinone content, related gene expression and activities of enzymes, and the markers of oxidative stress were determined. The results showed that SmAP1, SmAP2 and SmERF2 were AP2/ERF TFs with AP conserved sequences, whose relative expression levels increased and were positively correlated with the contents of tanshinone I (T-I), tanshinone IIA (T-IIA) and cryptotanshinone (CT) in the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) increased in the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza. The expression levels of genes encoding enzymes and the activities of key enzymes in the tanshinone biosynthesis pathway increased accordingly. The results showed that AP2/ERF TFs could positively regulate the biosynthesis of tanshinone in the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza under salt stress.
丹参是一种传统的中草药，其中丹参酮是主要的生物活性成分之一，具有抗肿瘤、抗菌、抗炎等特性以及其他生理功能。丹参酮作为一种次生代谢产物，在盐胁迫或其他环境胁迫下合成。氧化应激是植物对盐胁迫的重要生理反应。转录因子（TFs）被认为在这个过程中起调节作用，而 AP2/ERF TFs 对植物抵御逆境有显著影响。然而，关于 AP2/ERF TFs 在盐胁迫下调节丹参酮合成的研究还很有限。本研究测定了丹参酮含量、相关基因表达和酶活性以及氧化应激标志物。结果表明，SmAP1、SmAP2 和 SmERF2 是具有 AP 保守序列的 AP2/ERF TFs，其相对表达水平随丹参酮 I（T-I）、丹参酮 IIA（T-IIA）和隐丹参酮（CT）在丹参根中的含量增加而增加，并呈正相关。丙二醛（MDA）含量和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）的活性在丹参根中增加。丹参酮生物合成途径中编码酶的基因表达水平和关键酶的活性相应增加。结果表明，AP2/ERF TFs 可以在盐胁迫下正向调节丹参根中丹参酮的生物合成。
