Chen Xinlian, Sun Shichao, Han Xiaoxu, Li Cheng, Wang Fengjiao, Nie Bao, Hou Zhuangwei, Yang Song, Ji Jiaojiao, Li Ge, Wang Yanqian, Han Xiaoyu, Yue Jianjun, Li Cui, Li Wei, Zhang Lixia, Yang Depo, Wang Li
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, 510006 Guangzhou, China.
Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518120 Shenzhen, China.
Hortic Res. 2023 Aug 1;10(8):uhad128. doi: 10.1093/hr/uhad128. eCollection 2023 Aug.
Amomi Fructus (Sharen, AF) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from three source species (or varieties), including var. (WVV), var. (WVX), or (WL). Among them, WVV has been transplanted from its top-geoherb region, Guangdong, to its current main production area, Yunnan, for >50 years in China. However, the genetic and transcriptomic differentiation among multiple AF source species (or varieties) and between the origin and transplanted populations of WVV is unknown. In our study, the observed overall higher expression of terpenoid biosynthesis genes in WVV than in WVX provided possible evidence for the better pharmacological effect of WVV. We also screened six candidate borneol dehydrogenases (BDHs) that potentially catalyzed borneol into camphor in WVV and functionally verified them. Highly expressed genes at the P2 stage of WVV, and , were capable of catalyzing the formation of camphor from (+)-borneol, (-)-borneol and DL-isoborneol. Moreover, the genes may experience independent evolution after acquiring the ancestral copies, and the following tandem duplications might account for the abundant camphor content in WVV. Furthermore, four populations of WVV, WVX, and WL are genetically differentiated, and the gene flow from WVX to WVV in Yunnan contributed to the greater genetic diversity in the introduced population (WVV-JH) than in its top-geoherb region (WVV-YC), which showed the lowest genetic diversity and might undergo genetic degradation. In addition, () and genes were selected among populations of multiple AF source species (or varieties) and between the top- and non-top-geoherb regions, which might explain the difference in metabolites between these populations. Our findings provide important guidance for the conservation, genetic improvement, and industrial development of the three source species (or varieties) and for identifying top-geoherbalism with molecular markers, and proper clinical application of AF.
砂仁是一种来源于三个源物种（或变种）的传统中药，包括阳春砂（WVV）、绿壳砂（WVX）或海南砂（WL）。其中，阳春砂已从其道地产区广东移植到中国目前的主要产区云南，已有50多年历史。然而，多个砂仁源物种（或变种）之间以及阳春砂的原产地和移植种群之间的遗传和转录组分化尚不清楚。在我们的研究中，观察到阳春砂中萜类生物合成基因的整体表达高于绿壳砂，这为阳春砂更好的药理作用提供了可能的证据。我们还筛选了六个候选的龙脑脱氢酶（BDH），它们可能在阳春砂中催化龙脑生成樟脑，并对其进行了功能验证。阳春砂P2阶段高表达的基因 和 能够催化（+）-龙脑、（-）-龙脑和DL-异龙脑生成樟脑。此外， 基因在获得祖先拷贝后可能经历了独立进化，随后的串联重复可能是阳春砂中樟脑含量丰富的原因。此外，阳春砂、绿壳砂和海南砂的四个种群在遗传上存在分化，云南绿壳砂向阳春砂的基因流动导致引入种群（阳春砂-JH）的遗传多样性高于其道地产区（阳春砂-YC），阳春砂-YC的遗传多样性最低，可能正在经历遗传退化。此外，在多个砂仁源物种（或变种）的种群之间以及道地和非道地产区之间选择了 （）和 基因，这可能解释了这些种群之间代谢物的差异。我们的研究结果为这三个源物种（或变种）的保护、遗传改良和产业发展，以及用分子标记鉴定道地药材和砂仁的合理临床应用提供了重要指导。
