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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1432563

Integrated Metabolome and Transcriptome Analysis Provide Insight into the Biosynthesis of Flavonoids in Panax japonicus

Provisionally accepted
Chunyu Chen Chunyu Chen 1*Ping Wang Ping Wang 2*Yan Yan Yan Yan 2*Ye li Ye li 1*Peng Di Peng Di 2*
  • 1 Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China
  • 2 Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Panax japonicus is an important medicinal plant, and flavonoids are one of its main secondary metabolites. In this study, the main roots, fibrous roots, stems, leaves and flowers of P. japonicus were analyzed using transcriptomics and widely targeted metabolomics. Through correlation analysis of transcription and metabolism, the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway in P. japonicus was analyzed, and the accumulation of flavonoid metabolites and the expression of related genes were investigated. Metabolomics revealed a total of 209 flavonoid metabolites in P. japonicus, among which flavonoids, flavonols, flavanones and flavanonols significantly accumulated in the flowers and leaves. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that key genes in the flavonoid pathway exhibited increased expression in the flowers and leaves. The expression patterns of key genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, including PjC4H, Pj4CL, PjCHS, PjCHI, PjF3H, PjF3'H, PjCYP, and PjPAL, are consistent with their upstream and downstream metabolites, demonstrating a significant positive correlation among them. In addition, the PjUGT gene is highly expressed in five tissues of P. japonicus, indicating that PjUGT is one of the key factors for the diversity of flavonoid glycosides. The WGCNA results showed that WRKY transcription factors exist widely in the candidate modules, and it was possible that PjWRKY transcription factors are involved in regulating the expression of key genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and the biosynthesis of flavonoid metabolites. This study reveals spatial differences in the accumulation patterns of flavonoid metabolites in different tissues and provides important clues for further understanding the regulatory mechanisms of flavonoid metabolism in P. japonicus, thus contributing to the optimization of germplasm resources of P. japonicus and the promotion of genetic diversity analysis.

    Keywords: Panax japonicus1, metabolome2, Transcriptome3, flavonoids4, biosynthesis pathway5

    Received: 14 May 2024; Accepted: 01 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Wang, Yan, li and Di. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chunyu Chen, Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China
    Ping Wang, Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun, China
    Yan Yan, Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun, China
    Ye li, Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China
    Peng Di, Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun, China

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