Comparative transcriptome and metabolite profiling of four tissues from Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juzep reveals its inflorescence developmental and medicinal characteristics

Wenjin Lin,Yamin Zhang,Xiaomei Xu,Xuehua Lu,Fengling Sun,Rongqing Xu,Lisha Li

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-48806-w

Wenjin Lin, Yamin Zhang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48806-w

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Aug 23, 2019
Citations: 7	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Fujian Academy of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juzep (A. orientale) is an important medicinal plant in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, de novo RNA-seq of A. orientale was performed based on the cDNA libraries from four different tissues, roots, leaves, scapes and inflorescences. A total of 41,685 unigenes were assembled, 25,024 unigene functional annotations were obtained by searching against the five public sequence databases, and 3,411 simple sequence repeats in A. orientale were reported for the first time. 15,402 differentially expressed genes were analysed. The morphological characteristics showed that compared to the other tissues, the leaves had more chlorophyll, the scapes had more vascular bundles, and the inflorescences contained more starch granules and protein. In addition, the metabolic profiles of eight kinds of alisols metabolite profiling, which were measured by ultra-Performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-mass spectrometry showed that alisol B 23-acetate and alisol B were the major components of the four tissues at amounts of 0.068~0.350 mg/g and 0.046~0.587 mg/g, respectively. In addition, qRT-PCR validated that farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase should be considered the critical candidate genes involved in alisol biosynthesis. These transcriptome and metabolic profiles of A. orientale may help clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the medicinal characteristics of A. orientale.

Highlights

Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juzep (A. orientale) is a perennial aquatic or marsh herb belonging to the Alisma genus and Alismataceae family[1]
The parenchyma cells in the cortex formed a large amount of long irregular aerated tissue, and there was a small amount of starch granules in the cortical parenchyma cells, The cortex was closely packed and the inner lignification thickened to form the Kjeldahl belt
A. orientale belongs to the genus Alisma genus, as well as to Alismataceae, Alismatineae, Helobiae, and Monocotyledoneae of the Angiospermae

Summary

Introduction

Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juzep (A. orientale) is a perennial aquatic or marsh herb belonging to the Alisma genus and Alismataceae family[1]. The scape and inflorescence of A. plantago are not suitable for consumption as a vegetable, A. plantago is cultivated only for producing medicine According to another herbal monograph titled Mingyi bielu, the roots, leaves, and fruits of A. orientale have been used as Chinese materia medica after harvesting. Current studies have concentrated on the tuber of A. orientale, and none have reported on the scape and inflorescence. First, high-throughput sequencing technology was employed to obtain the transcriptomes of four different tissues, root, leaf, scape and inflorescences of A. orientale. QRT-PCR was carried out to validate the expression levels of the DEGs involved in the biosynthesis of alisol and its derivatives and aquaporin-related pathways We believe that these transcriptome and metabolic profiles of A. orientale may help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the distribution characteristics of alisol and its derivatives

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