Lin Yanhui, Li Yapeng, Zhu Honglin, Tang Liqiong, Xu Jing
Institute of Food Crops, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Hainan Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Breeding, Haikou, China.
Sanya Research Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Jan 7;15:1511602. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1511602. eCollection 2024.
Sweet potato is an important food, feed and industrial raw material, and its tubers are rich in starch, carotenoids and anthocyanins.
To elucidate the gene expression regulation and metabolic characteristics during the development of sweet potato tubers, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed on the tubers of three different sweet potato varieties at three developmental stages (70, 100, and 130 days (d)).
RNA-seq analysis revealed that 16,303 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were divided into 12 clusters according to their expression patterns, and the pathways of each cluster were annotated. A total of 9118 DEGs were divided into three categories during the same developmental period. A total of 1566 metabolites were detected, which were mainly divided into 12 categories. DEGs and differentially regulated metabolites (DRMs) were significantly enriched in the starch and sucrose metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. The DEGs associated with the flavonoid pathway showed greater expression with the development of tubers, with the highest expression occurring at 130 d; chalcone isomerase (CHI) was a key gene associated with 11 flavonoid compounds. The DEGs associated with the starch pathway presented relatively low expression during the development of tubers, with the highest expression occurring at 70 d; UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase 2 (UPG2) and glycogen synthase (glgA) were able to regulate the key genes of 8 metabolites related to the starch biosynthesis pathway. The anthocyanin content is directly related to changes in the content of peonidin-3-O-(6"-O-feruloyl)sophoroside-5-O-glucoside, which is regulated by the gene. The abundance of this starch is directly related to changes in the content of D-glucose 6-phosphate and is regulated by the and genes. A total of 14 candidate genes related to starch, carotenoids and anthocyanins in sweet potato tubers, including the , and genes, were identified via weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA).
This research provides fresh insights into the levels of anthocyanins, starch, and carotenoids throughout the growth of sweet potato tubers and sheds light on the potential regulatory pathways and candidate genes involved in this developmental progression.
甘薯是一种重要的食物、饲料和工业原料，其块茎富含淀粉、类胡萝卜素和花青素。
为阐明甘薯块茎发育过程中的基因表达调控和代谢特征，对三个不同甘薯品种在三个发育阶段（70、100和130天（d））的块茎进行了转录组和代谢组分析。
RNA测序分析显示，16303个差异表达基因（DEGs）根据其表达模式被分为12个簇，并对每个簇的途径进行了注释。在同一发育时期，共有9118个DEGs被分为三类。共检测到1566种代谢物，主要分为12类。DEGs和差异调节代谢物（DRMs）在淀粉和蔗糖代谢以及类黄酮生物合成途径中显著富集。与类黄酮途径相关的DEGs随着块茎的发育表达量增加，在130 d时表达量最高；查尔酮异构酶（CHI）是与11种类黄酮化合物相关的关键基因。与淀粉途径相关的DEGs在块茎发育过程中表达相对较低，在70 d时表达量最高；尿苷二磷酸葡萄糖焦磷酸化酶2（UPG2）和糖原合酶（glgA）能够调控与淀粉生物合成途径相关的8种代谢物的关键基因。花青素含量与芍药色素-3-O-（6″-O-阿魏酰）槐糖苷-5-O-葡萄糖苷含量的变化直接相关，其受该基因调控。这种淀粉的丰度与6-磷酸-D-葡萄糖含量的变化直接相关，并受该基因和该基因调控。通过加权基因共表达网络分析（WGCNA）鉴定出14个与甘薯块茎中淀粉、类胡萝卜素和花青素相关的候选基因，包括该基因、该基因和该基因。
本研究为甘薯块茎整个生长过程中的花青素、淀粉和类胡萝卜素水平提供了新的见解，并揭示了参与这一发育过程的潜在调控途径和候选基因。
