Transcriptome analysis provides insights into light condition effect on paclitaxel biosynthesis in yew saplings

Abstract

Background Taxus is a rare gymnosperm plant that is the sole producer of the anticancer drug paclitaxel. The growth and development of Taxus is affected by environmental factors such as light. However, little is known about how light conditions affect growth and metabolic processes, especially paclitaxel biosynthesis. Results In this study, we applied three different light conditions to Taxus chinensis young saplings and investigated the physiological response and gene expression. Our observations showed that exposure to high light led to oxidative stress, caused photoinhibition, and damaged the photosynthetic systems in T. chinensis. The paclitaxel content in T. chinensis leaves was significantly decreased after the light intensity increased. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that numerous genes involved in paclitaxel biosynthesis and phenylpropanoid metabolic pathways were downregulated under high light. We also analyzed the expression of JA signaling genes, bHLH, MYB, AP2/ERF transcription factors, and the CYP450 families that are potentially related to paclitaxel biosynthesis. We found that several CYP450s, MYB and AP2/ERF genes were induced by high light. These genes may play an important role in tolerance to excessive light or heat stress in T. chinensis. Conclusions Our study elucidates the molecular mechanism of the effects of light conditions on the growth and development of T. chinensis and paclitaxel biosynthesis, thus facilitating the artificial regeneration of Taxus and enhancing paclitaxel production.

Regulatory microRNAs and phasiRNAs of paclitaxel biosynthesis in Taxus chinensis

“…The biosynthesis pathway of paclitaxel is fine-tuned at transcription level ( Li et al, 2020 ; Li et al., 2022 ). More and more TFs are recognized as pivotal regulators in the paclitaxel pathway ( Kuang et al., 2019 ; Mutanda et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Researchers are actively exploring diverse TFs through gene function validation to modulate each enzyme gene in the paclitaxel synthesis pathway, paving the way for enhanced transcriptional expression and improved synthesis efficiency. The TFs targeting to genes in paclitaxel pathway can also involve the regulation genes in the growth and development of T. chinensis ( Li et al., 2022 ).…”

Phylogeny and expression patterns of ERF genes that are potential reproductive inducers in hybrid larch

“…ERF3 homolog CmERF3 in chrysanthemum also functions as a floral repressor, cooperating with CmBBX8 to suppress the expression of CmFTL1 , thereby regulating the nutritional and reproductive development of chrysanthemums [ 26 ]. The involvement of ERF genes in flowering regulation in gymnosperms is poorly documented, and most of the studies have mainly focused on transcriptomic expression analysis due to the lack of reference genomes [ 35 – 38 ]. In our previous research [ 24 ], RNA-seq data revealed a consistent trend among these five genes: they exhibited lower expression levels in buds of the seed high-yield clone (Dh_B, Fig.…”

Transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals mechanism of light intensity modulating iridoid biosynthesis in Gentiana macrophylla Pall.

“…Among the ecological factors, light is considered to be essential. LED light sources of different intensities have been found to have distinct effects on the plant growth [ 36 , 37 ], the protective enzyme system [ 38 ], the photosynthesis [ 19 ], and the accumulation of secondary metabolites [ 19 , 39 , 40 ]. Photosynthesis plays a vital role in the oxidative respiratory chain as the primary driving force to initiate changes during plant growth and development.…”