Shtratnikova Victoria Yu, Bogdanov Viktor P, Schelkunov Mikhail I, Klepikova Anna V, Kulbachnaya Mariya A, Obukhova Ekaterina N, Ptitsyna Elena V, Ezhova Margarita A, Penin Aleksey A, Logacheva Maria D
Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, H. 1, Bld. 40, Leninskye Gory, Moscow, 119992, Russian Federation.
Moscow Center for Advanced Studies, H. 20, Kulakova Str., Moscow, 123592, Russian Federation.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Aug 18;25(1):1091. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-07042-3.
Species of the Apiaceae family produce furanocoumarins-photosensitizing substances widely used in pharmacology. Among them, certain species of the genus Heracleum, commonly known as "giant hogweeds", are particularly renowned for their photosensitizing properties. While the metabolic composition of these plants has been studied extensively, their genomics remains largely unexplored, as does the biosynthesis of furanocoumarins within the genus. The reasons behind the increased photosensitivity of giant hogweeds compared to other Heracleum species remain unclear.
A comparison of the genomic features and furanocoumarin content of the aboveground organs in two Heracleum species was carried out: H. sosnowskyi, a giant hogweed with strong photosensitizing activity, and H. sibiricum, a non-invasive and "harmless" species. Both species produce all known angular and linear compounds of the furanocoumarin synthesis pathway (from umbelliferone to isopimpinellin). The genomes of both species possess homologues of genes involved in the biosynthesis of both angular and linear furanocoumarins. However, the two species differ significantly in the quantity of those compounds. H. sibiricum synthesizes angular furanocoumarins in a much lower level, probably due to lack of the gene for umbelliferon-8-dimetylallyl transferase enzyme. H. sosnowskyi accumulates significantly higher level of xanthotoxin. Interpopulation differences were observed in both the compound content and the expression level of biosynthetic genes.
This study represents the first comparative analysis of genomic and metabolic data for closely related Heracleum species in relation to furanocoumarin biosynthesis.
伞形科植物会产生呋喃香豆素——一类广泛应用于药理学的光敏物质。其中，独活属的某些物种，通常被称为“大豕草”，尤其以其光敏特性而闻名。虽然对这些植物的代谢成分进行了广泛研究，但它们的基因组学在很大程度上仍未被探索，该属内呋喃香豆素的生物合成情况也是如此。与其他独活属物种相比，大豕草光敏性增强的原因尚不清楚。
对两种独活属植物地上器官的基因组特征和呋喃香豆素含量进行了比较：具有强烈光敏活性的大豕草—— Sosnowsky独活，以及一种非入侵性且“无害”的物种——西伯利亚独活。这两个物种都能产生呋喃香豆素合成途径中所有已知的角型和线型化合物（从伞形酮到异茴芹内酯）。两个物种的基因组都拥有参与角型和线型呋喃香豆素生物合成的基因同源物。然而，这两个物种在这些化合物的数量上有显著差异。西伯利亚独活合成角型呋喃香豆素的水平要低得多，可能是由于缺乏伞形酮 - 8 - 二甲基烯丙基转移酶基因。Sosnowsky独活积累的花椒毒素水平明显更高。在化合物含量和生物合成基因的表达水平上都观察到了种群间差异。
本研究首次对密切相关的独活属物种在呋喃香豆素生物合成方面的基因组和代谢数据进行了比较分析。
