| Summary: | <i>Panax ginseng</i> is a valuable medicinal herb of the Araliaceae family with various pharmacological activities. The Trihelix transcription factors family is involved in growth and secondary metabolic processes in plants, but no studies have been reported on the involvement of <i>Trihelix</i> genes in secondary metabolic processes in ginseng. In this study, weighted co-expression network analysis, correlation analysis between <i>PgGTs</i> and ginsenosides and key enzyme genes, and interaction network analysis between <i>PgGTs</i> and key enzyme genes were used to screen out the <i>PgGT25-04</i> gene, which was negatively correlated with ginsenoside synthesis. Using ABA treatment of ginseng hair roots, <i>PgGT</i> genes were found to respond to ABA signals. Analysis of the sequence characteristics and expression pattern of the <i>PgGT25-04</i> gene in ginseng revealed that its expression is spatiotemporally specific. The interfering vector pBI121-PgGT25-04 containing the <i>PgGT25-04</i> gene was constructed, and the ginseng adventitious roots were transformed using the Agrobacterium-mediated method to obtain the pBI121-PgGT25-04 positive hairy root monocot line. The saponin contents of positive ginseng hair roots were measured by HPLC, and the changes in <i>PgGT25-04</i> and key enzyme genes in positive ginseng hair roots were detected via fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR. These results preliminarily identified the role of the <i>PgGT25-04</i> gene in the secondary metabolism of ginseng in Jilin to provide a theoretical basis for the study of Trihelix transcription factors in <i>Panax ginseng</i>.
|
|---|