College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
School of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2021 Nov 1;21(1):504. doi: 10.1186/s12870-021-03288-9.
Bletilla striata is one of the important species belonging to the Bletilla genus of Orchidaceae. Since its extracts have an astringent effect on human tissues, B. striata is widely used for hemostasis and healing. Recently, some other beneficial effects have also been uncovered, such as antioxidation, antiinflammation, antifibrotic, and immunomodulatory activities. As a key step towards a thorough understanding on the medicinal ingredient production in B. striata, deciphering the regulatory codes of the metabolic pathways becomes a major task.
In this study, three organs (roots, tubers and leaves) of B. striata were analyzed by integrating transcriptome sequencing and untargeted metabolic profiling data. Five different metabolic pathways, involved in polysaccharide, sterol, flavonoid, terpenoid and alkaloid biosynthesis, were investigated respectively. For each pathway, the expression patterns of the enzyme-coding genes and the accumulation levels of the metabolic intermediates were presented in an organ-specific way. Furthermore, the relationships between enzyme activities and the levels of the related metabolites were partially inferred. Within the biosynthetic pathways of polysaccharides and flavonoids, long-range phytochemical transportation was proposed for certain metabolic intermediates and/or the enzymes.
The data presented by this work could strengthen the molecular basis for further studies on breeding and medicinal uses of B. striata.
白及是兰科白及属的重要物种之一。由于其提取物对人体组织具有收敛作用，白及被广泛用于止血和愈合。最近，还发现了其他一些有益的作用，如抗氧化、抗炎、抗纤维化和免疫调节活性。作为深入了解白及药用成分生产的关键步骤，破译代谢途径的调控密码成为一项主要任务。
在这项研究中，通过整合转录组测序和非靶向代谢谱数据，对白及的三个器官（根、块茎和叶）进行了分析。分别研究了参与多糖、固醇、类黄酮、萜类和生物碱生物合成的五个不同代谢途径。对于每个途径，以器官特异性的方式呈现了酶编码基因的表达模式和代谢中间产物的积累水平。此外，还部分推断了酶活性与相关代谢物水平之间的关系。在多糖和类黄酮的生物合成途径中，提出了某些代谢中间产物和/或酶的远程植物化学运输。
本工作提供的数据可以为进一步研究白及的育种和药用用途提供分子基础。
