Institute of Applied Chemistry, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, Shanxi, China.
Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, Shanxi, China.
Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2022 Nov;194(11):5506-5521. doi: 10.1007/s12010-022-04039-8. Epub 2022 Jul 5.
Ephedra sinica, a well-known Chinese medicinal plant, is characterized as having the opposite medicinal effect among its root and stem. However, there is a lack of understanding to differentiate the active components present in the root and stem of E. sinica, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of the differential compounds, which has significantly hampered the further development and utilization of E. sinica resource. In this study, forty-five differential metabolic markers are affiliated to alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and organic acids between root and stem of E. sinica, and sixty genes of key enzymes are involved in their biosynthesis distributed in metabolic pathway branches such as phenylalanine metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis and phenylpropane biosynthesis, based on combination non-targeted metabolome with transcriptome technologies. The finding revealed that the expression activity changes of these enzyme genes had a direct impact on the distinction of differential metabolic markers in the root and stem of E. sinica. This study will help to understand the molecular mechanism of the differentiation and biosynthesis of the primary active metabolites in the root and stem of E. sinica, providing a theoretical foundation for its quality control and promotion in cultivation.
麻黄，一种著名的中药植物，其根和茎具有相反的药用功效。然而，人们对于麻黄根和茎中活性成分的区别以及形成差异化合物的分子机制了解甚少，这极大地阻碍了麻黄资源的进一步开发和利用。在这项研究中，基于非靶向代谢组学与转录组学技术的结合，我们在麻黄的根和茎之间鉴定出 45 种差异代谢标志物，它们与生物碱、类黄酮、萜类和有机酸有关，并且涉及到 60 个关键酶基因，这些酶基因参与了苯丙氨酸代谢、类黄酮生物合成和苯丙烷生物合成等代谢途径分支中它们的生物合成。研究结果表明，这些酶基因的表达活性变化直接影响麻黄根和茎中差异代谢标志物的区分。本研究有助于了解麻黄根和茎中主要活性代谢物的分化和生物合成的分子机制，为其质量控制和栽培推广提供理论基础。
