Li Xiangzhu, Zheng Yongjun, Liu Mingming, Wang Kangyu, Chen Hong
Tonghua Herbal Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Tonghua, 134100, China.
College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China.
Genes Genomics. 2024 Dec;46(12):1473-1485. doi: 10.1007/s13258-024-01577-9. Epub 2024 Oct 7.
Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is an herb with a long history and a wide range of applications. Ginsenoside is one of the most representative and active ginseng compounds, with various pharmacological effects. Therefore, the development of bioreactors using methyl jasmonate (MeJA) as an inducer for targeted ginsenoside production is of great commercial value. Combined with transcriptomic research tools, screenings to obtain candidate genes involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis are crucial for future discoveries about the molecular mechanism of MeJA-regulated ginsenoside biosynthesis.
In our study, the ginsenoside content of ginseng adventitious roots treated with MeJA at different times was analyzed. Transcriptome analysis was performed to investigate the effects of MeJA on changes in ginsenoside content in ginseng adventitious roots.
The MeJA could significantly increase changes in the content of pro-ginsenodiol ginsenosides as well as pro-triol ginsenosides Rg3, Re, and Rf in ginseng adventitious roots. Differential gene expression analysis showed that a total of 14,009 differentially expressed genes were obtained from the screening of the present study. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched under GO terms in response to stimuli, metabolic processes, and the regulation of biological processes, with significant annotation to the metabolic terms of terpenoids and polyketides. Two expression modules of genes highly related to ginsenoside biosynthesis were obtained via WGCNA.
Our study provides a reference system for the targeted ginsenoside production using MeJA as an inducer, and also provides genetic and gene resources for subsequently validating genes related to the regulation of ginsenoside biosynthesis using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA).
人参是一种历史悠久、应用广泛的草药。人参皂苷是人参中最具代表性和活性的化合物之一，具有多种药理作用。因此，开发以茉莉酸甲酯（MeJA）为诱导剂的生物反应器用于靶向人参皂苷生产具有重要的商业价值。结合转录组学研究工具，筛选参与人参皂苷生物合成的候选基因对于未来发现MeJA调控人参皂苷生物合成的分子机制至关重要。
在本研究中，分析了不同时间用MeJA处理的人参不定根中人参皂苷的含量。进行转录组分析以研究MeJA对人参不定根中人参皂苷含量变化的影响。
MeJA可显著增加人参不定根中人参二醇型原人参皂苷以及人参三醇型皂苷Rg3、Re和Rf含量的变化。差异基因表达分析表明，本研究筛选共获得14009个差异表达基因。基因本体（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）富集分析表明，差异表达基因主要富集在响应刺激、代谢过程和生物过程调控的GO术语下，在萜类化合物和聚酮化合物的代谢术语上有显著注释。通过加权基因共表达网络分析（WGCNA）获得了两个与人参皂苷生物合成高度相关的基因表达模块。
本研究为以MeJA为诱导剂的靶向人参皂苷生产提供了参考体系，也为随后利用加权基因共表达网络分析（WGCNA）验证与人参皂苷生物合成调控相关的基因提供了遗传和基因资源。
