AUTHOR=Li Xiujuan , Xu Man , Zhou Ke , Hao Siyu , Li Liqin , Wang Leran , Zhou Wei , Kai Guoyin 

TITLE=SmEIL1 transcription factor inhibits tanshinone accumulation in response to ethylene signaling in Salvia miltiorrhiza

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1356922

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2024.1356922

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Among the bioactive compounds, lipid-soluble tanshinone is present in <italic>Salvia miltiorrhiza</italic>, a medicinal plant species. While it is known that ethephon has the ability to inhibit the tanshinones biosynthesis in the <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> hairy root, however the underlying regulatory mechanism remains obscure. In this study, using the transcriptome dataset of the <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> hairy root induced by ethephon, an ethylene-responsive transcriptional factor EIN3-like 1 (<italic>SmEIL1</italic>) was identified. The SmEIL1 protein was found to be localized in the nuclei, and confirmed by the transient transformation observed in tobacco leaves. The overexpression of <italic>SmEIL1</italic> was able to inhibit the tanshinones accumulation to a large degree, as well as down-regulate tanshinones biosynthetic genes including <italic>SmGGPPS1, SmHMGR1, SmHMGS1, SmCPS1, SmKSL1</italic> and <italic>SmCYP76AH1</italic>. These are well recognized participants in the tanshinones biosynthesis pathway. Further investigation on the <italic>SmEIL1</italic> was observed to inhibit the transcription of the <italic>CPS1</italic> gene by the Dual-Luciferase (Dual-LUC) and yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays. The data in this work will be of value regarding the involvement of <italic>EILs</italic> in regulating the biosynthesis of tanshinones and lay the foundation for the metabolic engineering of bioactive ingredients in <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic>.</p>