Xie Qiandan, Jiang Zhengchu, Yu Chenliang, Wang Qi, Dai Wensheng, Wu Jiasheng, Yu Weiwu
State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Jan 23;25(1):97. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-06113-9.
Torreya grandis, a prominent tree species of the autochthonous subtropical region of China, possesses a drupe-like fruit containing a nut that is rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, the effect of calcium (Ca) sugar alcohol (CSA), a newly developed chelated Ca-fertilizer, on the secondary metabolism of phenolics in T. grandis nuts is largely unknown, for which transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis was carried out.
Transcriptome sequencing detected 47,064 transcripts, and several phenolic acid biosynthesis pathway-related genes were identified. Correlation analysis showed that the four transcription factors, TgWRKY1, TgAP2-1, TgAP2-3, and TgAP2-4, were positively associated with the accumulation of phenolic acids. Furthermore, the binding of TgAP2-1 to the TgHCT promoter was confirmed using yeast one hybrid and dual-luciferase assays. Furthermore, the expression of TgHCT in Nicotiana enhanced the total flavonoid content.
Our results indicated that a new regulatory module, Ca-AP2-HCT, involved in the regulation of phenolic acid biosynthesis was revealed, expanding the understanding of the role of Ca fertilizers in plant secondary metabolism.
香榧是中国亚热带地区特有的著名树种，其核果状果实中的坚果富含营养和生物活性化合物。然而，一种新开发的螯合钙肥糖醇钙（CSA）对香榧坚果中酚类物质次生代谢的影响尚不清楚，因此进行了转录组和代谢组分析。
转录组测序检测到47,064条转录本，并鉴定出几个与酚酸生物合成途径相关的基因。相关性分析表明，四个转录因子TgWRKY1、TgAP2-1、TgAP2-3和TgAP2-4与酚酸积累呈正相关。此外，通过酵母单杂交和双荧光素酶测定证实了TgAP2-1与TgHCT启动子的结合。此外，TgHCT在烟草中的表达提高了总黄酮含量。
我们的结果表明，揭示了一个参与酚酸生物合成调控的新调控模块Ca-AP2-HCT，扩展了对钙肥在植物次生代谢中作用的理解。
