Transcriptome analysis revealing the effect of Willd association with endophytic fungi CHS3 on the production of saikosaponin D.

Saikosaponin D (SSd) is a naturally active product with strong pharmacological activity found in Willd. Studies have shown that endophytic fungi have great potential as sources of natural medicines. (CHS3), an SSd-producing endophytic fungus, was isolated from . To elucidate the effect of host plants on the production of SSd in CHS3, CHS3 was co-cultured with suspension cells of and SSd was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) of CHS3 before and after co-culture was performed using an Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. The results indicated that the content of SSd synthesised by CHS3 increased after co-culture with suspension cells of . Transcriptome analysis of CHS3 with differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed that 1202 and 1049 genes were upregulated and downregulated, respectively, after co-culture. Thirty genes associated with SSd synthesis and 11 genes related to terpene backbone biosynthesis were annotated to the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Combined with transcriptome data, it was speculated that the mevalonate (MVA) pathway is a possible pathway for SSd synthesis in CHS3, and the expression of key enzyme genes () was validated by qRT-PCR. In conclusion, the endophytic fungus CHS3 can form an interactive relationship with its host, thereby promoting SSd biosynthesis and accumulation by upregulating the expression of key enzyme genes in the biosynthesis pathway.