Bai Yu, Liu Haijiao, Pan Jianying, Zhang Shiyan, Guo Yixin, Xian Yisha, Sun Zhirong, Zhang Zilong
School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2021 Nov 12;12:761821. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.761821. eCollection 2021.
The root of (Burk.), in which saponins are the major active components, is a famous traditional Chinese medicine used to stop bleeding and to decrease inflammation and heart disease. Inflorescence removal increases the yield and quality of , but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here, the differences between inflorescence-removal treatment and control groups of were compared using transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses. Illumina sequencing of cDNA libraries prepared from the rhizomes, leaves and roots of the two groups independently identified 6,464, 4,584, and 7,220 differentially expressed genes (DEG), respectively. In total, 345 differentially expressed transcription factors (TFs), including MYB and WRKY family members, were induced by the inflorescence-removal treatment. Additionally, 215 DEGs involved in saponin terpenoid backbone biosynthetic pathways were identified. Most genes involved in the mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways were activated by inflorescence removal. The co-expression analysis showed that the low expression levels of flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes (e.g., and ) decreased the biosynthesis and accumulation of some flavonoids after inflorescence removal. The results not only provide new insights into the fundamental mechanisms underlying the poorly studied inflorescence-removal process in and other rhizome crops, but they also represent an important resource for future research on gene functions during inflorescence-removal treatments and the reproductive stage.
（某植物名称，括号内为拉丁学名）的根是一种著名的传统中药，其中皂苷是主要活性成分，具有止血、抗炎和治疗心脏病的功效。去除花序可提高该植物的产量和品质，但其潜在的分子机制尚不清楚。在此，通过转录组学和代谢组学分析比较了该植物去除花序处理组和对照组之间的差异。对两组植物的根茎、叶片和根制备的cDNA文库进行Illumina测序，分别独立鉴定出6464、4584和7220个差异表达基因（DEG）。去除花序处理共诱导了345个差异表达转录因子（TF），包括MYB和WRKY家族成员。此外，还鉴定出215个参与皂苷萜类骨架生物合成途径的DEG。参与甲羟戊酸（MVA）和甲基赤藓糖醇磷酸（MEP）途径的大多数基因在去除花序后被激活。共表达分析表明，去除花序后，黄酮类生物合成相关基因（如某两个基因，原文未给出具体名称）的低表达水平降低了某些黄酮类化合物的生物合成和积累。这些结果不仅为深入了解该植物及其他根茎类作物中研究较少的去除花序过程的基本机制提供了新的见解，也为未来研究去除花序处理和生殖阶段的基因功能提供了重要资源。
