Wang Ting, Xu Guoqing, Liu Zhaoyu, Ding Xiaoxia, Wang Liangting, Leng Liang, Wang Can, Xu Tong, Zhang Yi
Ethnic Medicine Academic Heritage Innovation Research Center, School of Ethnic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Institute of Herbgenomics, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Mar 24;16:1547584. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1547584. eCollection 2025.
is a well-known Tibetan medicine that possesses abundant diterpenoid alkaloids (DAs) with high medicinal value. However, due to the complicated structures of DAs and the associated challenges synthesis presents, plants like remain the primary source for DAs.
Given the underutilization of the , a thorough metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis was conducted on its flowers, leaves, and stems to elucidate the regulatory network underlying DA biosynthesis.
Metabolomic profiling (utilizing UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS) identified 198 alkaloids, of which 61 were DAs and the relative abundance of DAs was different among different tissues. Without a reference genome, we performed assembly of the transcriptome of . We generated 181,422 unigenes, among which 411 candidate enzyme genes related to the DA synthesis pathway were identified, including 34 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Through joint analysis of transcriptome and metabolome data, we found a correlation between the detected metabolite levels in various tissues and the expression of related genes. Specifically, it was found that ApCYP1, ApCYP72, and ApCYP256 may be related to turupellin accumulation, while ApBAHD9, ApBAHD10, ApBAHD12 positively associated with the accumulation of aconitine. Furthermore, our study also revealed that genes involved in the diterpene skeleton synthesis pathway tend to be highly expressed in flowers, whereas genes related to DA skeleton synthesis and their subsequent modifications are more likely to be highly expressed in leaf and stem tissues. Functional analysis of gene families identified 77 BAHD acyltransferases, 12 -methyltransferases, and 270 CYP450 enzyme genes potentially involved in the biosynthesis of DAs. The co-expression network between metabolites and related genes revealed 116 significant correlations involving 30 DAs and 58 enzyme genes.
This study provides valuable resources for in-depth research on the secondary metabolism of , not only deepening our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of DA biosynthesis but also providing valuable genetic resources for subsequent genetic improvement and metabolic engineering strategies.
[药物名称]是一种著名的藏药，含有丰富的具有高药用价值的二萜生物碱（DAs）。然而，由于DAs结构复杂以及合成过程面临的相关挑战，像[植物名称]这样的植物仍然是DAs的主要来源。
鉴于[植物名称]未得到充分利用，对其花、叶和茎进行了全面的代谢组学和转录组学分析，以阐明DA生物合成的调控网络。
代谢组学分析（利用超高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间串联质谱法）鉴定出198种生物碱，其中61种为DAs，且不同组织中DAs的相对丰度不同。在没有参考基因组的情况下，我们对[植物名称]的转录组进行了从头组装。我们生成了181,422个单基因，其中鉴定出411个与DA合成途径相关的候选酶基因，包括34个差异表达基因（DEGs）。通过对转录组和代谢组数据的联合分析，我们发现不同组织中检测到的代谢物水平与相关基因的表达之间存在相关性。具体而言，发现ApCYP1、ApCYP72和ApCYP256可能与土贝母碱积累有关，而ApBAHD9、ApBAHD10、ApBAHD12与乌头碱积累呈正相关。此外，我们的研究还表明，参与二萜骨架合成途径的基因在花中倾向于高表达，而与DA骨架合成及其后续修饰相关的基因更可能在叶和茎组织中高表达。对基因家族的功能分析鉴定出77个可能参与DAs生物合成的BAHD酰基转移酶、12个甲基转移酶和270个CYP450酶基因。代谢物与相关基因之间的共表达网络揭示了116个显著相关性，涉及30种DAs和58个酶基因。
本研究为深入研究[植物名称]的次生代谢提供了有价值的资源，不仅加深了我们对DA生物合成调控机制的理解，也为后续的遗传改良和代谢工程策略提供了有价值的遗传资源。
