Department of Applied Technology, Lijiang Teachers College, Lijiang 674199, China.
Genes (Basel). 2024 Jun 22;15(7):828. doi: 10.3390/genes15070828.
Polygonati rhizoma, known for its distinct yellow rhizomes, is a common therapeutic and culinary plant in Far East Asia. The hue of medicinal plants is closely tied to the flavonoid biosynthesis and content levels. In this research, the fibrous root and taproot of Coll.et Hemsl. were studied to explore the secondary metabolite expression and flavonoid biosynthesis mechanisms using transcriptomics and metabolomics. Metabolic analysis identified that the differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) in the fibrous root and taproot were predominantly flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, and phenolic acids. Overall, 200 flavonoids were identified in Coll.et Hemsl., with 170 exhibiting variances between the fibrous root and taproot. The transcriptome analysis revealed that a total of 289 unigenes encoding 32 enzymes were annotated into four flavonoid biosynthesis pathways, which include phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathway, and flavone and flavonol biosynthesis pathway. The integration of transcriptomic and metabolomic data elucidated that the 76 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) encoding 13 enzyme genes (, , , , , , , , , , , , and ) and 15 DAMs preferred to be regulated in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. The expression of 10 DEGs was validated by qRT-PCR, agreeing with the same results by RNA-Seq. These findings shed light into the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in Coll.et Hemsl., offering valuable information for the sustainable utilization and enhancement of this plant species.
黄精，因其独特的黄色根茎而闻名，是远东亚洲常见的药用和食用植物。药用植物的颜色与其类黄酮生物合成和含量水平密切相关。在这项研究中，对川牛膝的纤维根和主根进行了研究，使用转录组学和代谢组学方法探索次生代谢产物表达和类黄酮生物合成机制。代谢分析表明，纤维根和主根中的差异积累代谢物（DAMs）主要为类黄酮、甾体、生物碱和酚酸。总的来说，在川牛膝中鉴定出 200 种类黄酮，其中 170 种在纤维根和主根之间存在差异。转录组分析显示，共有 289 个编码 32 种酶的 unigenes被注释到四个类黄酮生物合成途径中，包括苯丙素生物合成途径、类黄酮生物合成途径、异黄酮生物合成途径和黄酮和黄酮醇生物合成途径。转录组和代谢组数据的整合表明，13 个酶基因（、、、、、、、、、、和）和 15 个 DAMs 的 76 个差异表达基因（DEGs）编码的基因（、、、、、、、、、、和），更倾向于在类黄酮生物合成途径中受到调控。通过 qRT-PCR 验证了 10 个 DEG 的表达，与 RNA-Seq 的结果一致。这些发现揭示了川牛膝中次生代谢物的生物合成机制，为该植物物种的可持续利用和增强提供了有价值的信息。
