Time-series transcriptome provides insights into the gene regulation network involved in the icariin-flavonoid metabolism during the leaf development of Epimedium pubescens

Frontiers in Plant Science

Plant Science

Baolin Guo¹  Xuelan Fan¹  Xiang Liu¹  Guoan Shen¹  Chaoqun Xu¹  Fengmei Suo¹  Chao Sun¹  Yue Zhang¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicines, Ministry of Education & National Engineering Laboratory for Breeding of Endangered Medicinal Materials, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China;

关键词: Epimedium pubescens;    prenylated flavonol glycosides;    time-series transcriptome;    gene regulatory network;    transcription factor;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpls.2023.1183481

 received in 2023-03-10, accepted in 2023-05-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Herba Epimedii (Epimedium) leaves are rich in prenylated flavonol glycosides (PFGs) with high medicinal value. However, the dynamics and regulatory network of PFG biosynthesis remain largely unclear. Here, we combined metabolite profiling (targeted to PFGs) and a high-temporal-resolution transcriptome to elucidate PFGs’ regulatory network in Epimedium pubescens and identified key candidate structural genes and transcription factors (TFs) involved in PFG accumulation. Chemical profile analysis revealed that PFG content was quite different between buds and leaves and displayed a continuous decline with leaf development. The structural genes are the determinant reasons, and they are strictly regulated by TFs under temporal cues. We further constructed seven time-ordered gene co-expression networks (TO-GCNs) of PFG biosynthesis genes (including EpPAL2, EpC4H, EpCHS2, EpCHI2, EpF3H, EpFLS3, and EpPT8), and three flavonol biosynthesis routines were then predicted. The TFs involved in TO-GCNs were further confirmed by WGCNA analysis. Fourteen hub genes, comprising 5 MYBs, 1 bHLH, 1 WD40, 2 bZIPs, 1 BES1, 1 C2H2, 1 Trihelix, 1 HD-ZIP, and 1 GATA were identified as candidate key TFs. The results were further validated by TF binding site (TFBS) analysis and qRT-PCR. Overall, these findings provide valuable information for understanding the molecular regulatory mechanism of PFGs biosynthesis, enriching the gene resources, which will guide further research on PFG accumulation in Epimedium.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Xu, Liu, Shen, Fan, Zhang, Sun, Suo and Guo