Metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses for characterizing the alkaloid metabolism of Chinese jujube and sour jujube fruits

Frontiers in Plant Science

Plant Science

Meijuan Shi¹  Dengke Li¹  Wanlong Su¹  Li Liu¹  Xiaofang Xue¹  Haiyan Ren¹  Yi Li¹  Ailing Zhao¹  Yongkang Wang¹ 

[1] Pomology Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Germplasm Improvement and Utilization in Pomology, Taiyuan, China;

关键词: Chinese jujube;    sour jujube;    fruits;    metabolome;    transcriptome;    alkaloid metabolites;    candidate genes;    regulatory network;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpls.2023.1267758

 received in 2023-07-27, accepted in 2023-08-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionJujube is an important economic forest tree whose fruit is rich in alkaloids. Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) and sour jujube (Ziziphus spinosa Hu.) are the two most important species of the jujube genus. However, the mechanisms underlying the synthesis and metabolism of alkaloids in jujube fruits remain poorly understood.MethodsIn this study, the fruits of Ziziphus jujuba ‘Hupingzao’ and Ziziphus spinosa ‘Taigusuanzao’ in different harvest stages were used as test materials, we first integrated widely targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses to elucidate the metabolism of alkaloids of jujube fruits.ResultsIn the metabolomics analysis, 44 alkaloid metabolites were identified in 4 samples, 3 of which were unique to sour jujube fruit. The differential alkaloid metabolites (DAMs) were more accumulated in sour jujube than in Chinese jujube; further, they were more accumulated in the white ripening stage than in the red stage. DAMs were annotated to 12 metabolic pathways. Additionally, transcriptomics data revealed 259 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in alkaloid synthesis and metabolism. By mapping the regulatory networks of DAMs and DEGs, we screened out important metabolites and 11 candidate genes.DiscussionThis study preliminarily elucidated the molecular mechanism of jujube alkaloid synthesis. The candidate genes regulated the synthesis of key alkaloid metabolites, but the specific regulation mechanism is unclear. Taken together, our results provide insights into the metabolic networks of alkaloid synthesis in Chinese jujube and sour jujube fruits at different harvest stages, thereby providing a theoretical reference for further research on the regulatory mechanism of jujube alkaloids and their development and utilization.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Xue, Zhao, Wang, Ren, Su, Li, Shi, Liu and Li