Integrative Analysis of Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Data Reveals the Mechanism of Color Formation in Corms of <i>Pinellia ternata</i>
<i>Pinellia ternata</i> (Thunb.) Breit. (<i>P. ternata</i>) is a very important plant that is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Its corms can be used as medicine and function to alleviate cough, headache, and phlegm. The epidermis of <i>P. ternata</i>...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/9/7990 |
| Summary: | <i>Pinellia ternata</i> (Thunb.) Breit. (<i>P. ternata</i>) is a very important plant that is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Its corms can be used as medicine and function to alleviate cough, headache, and phlegm. The epidermis of <i>P. ternata</i> corms is often light yellow to yellow in color; however, within the range of <i>P. ternata</i> found in JingZhou City in Hubei Province, China, there is a form of <i>P. ternata</i> in which the epidermis of the corm is red. We found that the total flavonoid content of red <i>P. ternata</i> corms is significantly higher than that of yellow <i>P. ternata</i> corms. The objective of this study was to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the difference in epidermal color between the two forms of <i>P. ternata</i>. The results showed that a high content of anthocyanidin was responsible for the red epidermal color in <i>P. ternata</i>, and 15 metabolites, including cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside-5-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, were screened as potential color markers in <i>P. ternata</i> through metabolomic analysis. Based on an analysis of the transcriptome, seven genes, including <i>PtCHS1</i>, <i>PtCHS2</i>, <i>PtCHI1</i>, <i>PtDFR5</i>, <i>PtANS</i>, <i>PtUPD-GT2</i>, and <i>PtUPD-GT3</i>, were found to have important effects on the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in the <i>P. ternata</i> corm epidermis. Furthermore, two transcription factors (TFs), <i>bHLH1</i> and <i>bHLH2</i>, may have regulatory functions in the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in red <i>P. ternata</i> corms. Using an integrative analysis of the metabolomic and transcriptomic data, we identified five genes, <i>PtCHI</i>, <i>PtDFR2</i>, <i>PtUPD-GT1</i>, <i>PtUPD-GT2</i>, and <i>PtUPD-GT3</i>, that may play important roles in the presence of the red epidermis color in <i>P. ternata</i> corms. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |