Comprehensive transcriptome profiling of Salvia miltiorrhiza for discovery of genes associated with the biosynthesis of tanshinones and phenolic acids

Abstract

Tanshinones and phenolic acids are crucial bioactive compounds biosynthesized in Salvia miltiorrhiza. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is an effective elicitor to enhance the production of phenolic acids and tanshinones simultaneously, while yeast extract (YE) is used as a biotic elicitor that only induce tanshinones accumulation. However, little was known about the different molecular mechanism. To identify the downstream and regulatory genes involved in tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis, we conducted comprehensive transcriptome profiling of S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots treated with either MeJA or YE. Total 55588 unigenes were assembled from about 1.72 billion clean reads, of which 42458 unigenes (76.4%) were successfully annotated. The expression patterns of 19 selected genes in the significantly upregulated unigenes were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. The candidate downstream genes and other cytochrome P450s involved in the late steps of tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis pathways were screened from the RNA-seq dataset based on co-expression pattern analysis with specific biosynthetic genes. Additionally, 375 transcription factors were identified to exhibit a significant up-regulated expression pattern in response to induction. This study can provide us a valuable gene resource for elucidating the molecular mechanism of tanshinones and phenolic acids biosynthesis in hairy roots of S. miltiorrhiza.

Transcription factor SmWRKY1 positively promote the biosynthesis of tanshinones inSalvia miltiorrhiza

“…While in S. miltiorrhiza , exogenous MeJA treatment can promote the accumulation of tanshinone (Gu et al, 2012; Kai et al, 2012; Hao et al, 2015). In our study, we noticed that SmWRKY1 can be induced by exogenous MeJA treatment, reaching a maximal level at 0.5 h after MeJA treatment., which is consistent with the previous reports that MeJA treatment could increase tanshione production (Hao et al, 2015; Zhou et al, 2017). Recent studies showed that Brassica napus WRKY33 (BnWRKY33), a S. sclerotiorum-responsive gene, could positively regulate resistance to S. sclerotiorum by enhancing the expression of genes involved in camalexin synthesis and genes regulated by salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) (Liu et al, 2017).…”

Effects of smoke-water and smoke-derived butenolide on accumulation of phenolic acids in cultured hairy roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bung

“…Extraction and qualitative analysis of phenolic acids in S. miltiorrhiza hairy root followed the methods described by Zhou et al (2017) with minor modification. Briefly, the hairy root was dried until a constant weight was obtained, grounded into powder and sieved through a 0.45 mm screen.…”

Advances in ginsenoside biosynthesis and metabolic regulation

“…), and gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide, ethylene, etc.). In the studies of Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots, it was found that JA, SA, Ag + , and yeast extract can enhance the production of tanshinones in hairy roots .…”