Abstract
The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is a perennial flowering plant of the Paeoniaceae species that is widely cultivated for medical and ornamental uses. The monoterpene glucoside paeoniflorin and its derivatives are the active compounds of the P. lactiflora roots. However, the gene regulation pathways associated with monoterpene and paeoniflorin biosynthesis in P. lactiflora are still unclear. Here, we selected three genotypes of P. lactiflora with distinct morphologic features and chemical compositions that were a result of long-term reproductive isolation. We performed an RNA-sequencing experiment to profile the transcriptome changes of the shoots and roots. Using de novo assembly analysis, we identified 36,264 unigenes, including 521 genes responsible for encoding transcription factors. We also identified 28,925 unigenes that were differentially expressed in different organs and/or genotypes. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the P. lactiflora unigenes were significantly overrepresented in several secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways. We identified and profiled 33 genes responsible for encoding the enzymescontrolling the major catalytic reactions in the terpenoid backbone and in monoterpenoid biosynthesis. Our study identified the candidate genes in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathways, providing useful information for metabolic engineering of P. lactiflora intended for pharmaceutical uses and facilitating the development of strategies to improve marker-assist P. lactiflora in the future.
Highlights
The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is a flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, which is native to Central and eastern Asia (Zhao et al, 2018, 2017)
To systematically identify genes and explore the gene expression network underlying paeoniflorin biosynthesis in P. lactiflora, we purified the RNA samples with three biological replicates derived from the shoots and roots of 3-year old PB, XT, and GS plants, and carried out the RNA-sequencing analysis using the Illumina paired-end 150 bp protocol
Using the homolog alignment analysis, we identified a large number of these assembled unigenes encoded in known regulatory monoterpenoid biosynthesis pathways in P. lactiflora
Summary
The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is a flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, which is native to Central and eastern Asia (Zhao et al, 2018, 2017). A water/ethanol extract of Radix Paeoniae Alba, known as Total Glucosides of Peony (TGP), was originally used in the treatment of typhoid fever (Li, Chen & Shen, 2011). TGP has been widely prescribed for fever, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, muscle cramping and spasms, systemic lupus erythematosus, and dysmenorrhea (Fan et al, 2012; He & Dai, 2011; Ji et al, 2013; Mao et al, 2012; Nam et al, 2013)
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