Ecological roles of secondary metabolites of Saposhnikovia divaricata in adaptation to drought stress

PeerJ

article

Sisi Cao¹  Lei Shi¹  Ying Shen¹  Luwen He¹  Xiangcai Meng¹ 

[1]Department of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine

[2]Medical College, Harbin Vocational & Technical College

关键词: Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Schischk;    Metabolomics;    Reactive oxygen species;    Polyethylene glycol-6000;    Secondary metabolites;    Metabolic pathways;    Antioxidant enzymes;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14336

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Saposhnikovia divaricata is a traditional Chinese herb that mainly grows in arid grasslands and strongly adapts to various stresses. Drought is not only a major abiotic stress factor but also a typical feature conducive to producing high-quality medicinal material. The present study investigated by treating S. divaricata plants with polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) identified 146 compounds from the roots of S. divaricata, among which seven primary metabolites and 28 secondary metabolites showed significant changes after drought treatment. UV-Vis spectrophotometer detected the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of superoxide anion (O2−.) and malondialdehyde (MDA). The differential primary metabolites revealed that drought promotes glycolysis, reducing primary metabolism and enhancing secondary metabolism. Meanwhile, the differential secondary metabolites showed an increase in the content of compounds upstream of the secondary metabolic pathway, and other glycosides and increased that of the corresponding aglycones. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and the content of O2−. and MDA shown different changes duing the drought treatment. These observations indicate that drought promotes the biosynthesis and transformation of the secondary metabolites and activity of antioxidant enzymes, improving plant adaptability. The present study also analyzed a few primary and secondary metabolites of S. divaricata under different degrees and durations of drought and speculated on the metabolic pathways in an arid environment. The findings indicate the biological nature, diversity, and complexity of secondary metabolites and the mechanisms of plant adaptation to ecological stress.

【 授权许可】

CC BY