Abstract
BackgroundOur previous study finds that male sterility in Salvia miltiorrhiza could result in stunted growth and reduced biomass, but their molecular mechanisms have not yet been revealed. In this article, we investigate the underlying mechanism of male sterility and its impact on plant growth and metabolic yield by using physiological analysis and mRNA sequencing (RNA-Seq).ResultsIn this study, transcriptomic and physiological analysis were performed to identify the mechanism of male sterility in mutants and its impact on plant growth and metabolic yield. Through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, it is found that the pathways are mainly enriched in processes including organ development, primary metabolic process and secondary metabolic process. Physiological analysis show that the chloroplast structure of male sterile mutants of S. miltiorrhiza is abnormally developed, which could result in decrease in leaf gas exchange (A, E and gs), chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv, Fm and Fv/Fm), and the chlorophyll content. Expression level of 7 differentially expressed genes involved in photosynthesis-related pathways is downregulated in male sterile lines of S. miltiorrhiza, which could explain the corresponding phenotypic changes in chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content and leaf gas exchange. Transcriptomic analysis establishes the role of disproportionating enzyme 1 (DPE1) as catalyzing the degradation of starch, and the role of sucrose synthase 3 (SUS3) and cytosolic invertase 2 (CINV2) as catalyzing the degradation of sucrose in the S. miltiorrhiza mutants. The results also confirm that phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) is involved in the biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B, and flavone synthase (FLS) is an important enzyme catalyzing steps of flavonoid biosynthesis.ConclusionsOur results from the physiological and transcriptome analysis reveal underlying mechanism of plant growth and metabolic yield in male sterile mutants, and provide insight into the crop yield of S. miltiorrhiza.
Highlights
Our previous study finds that male sterility in Salvia miltiorrhiza could result in stunted growth and reduced biomass, but their molecular mechanisms have not yet been revealed
The results suggest that one of the reasons for the decrease in sucrose and starch in male sterile mutants of S. miltiorrhiza might be due to fast degradation of starch, which is catalyzed by disproportionating enzyme 1 (DPE1) and fast degradation of sucrose, which is catalyzed by sucrose synthase 3 (SUS3) and cytosolic invertase 2 (CINV2)
In conclusion, our results show that the male sterile lines of S. miltiorrhiza have lower primary metabolism and more active secondary metabolism in leaves
Summary
Our previous study finds that male sterility in Salvia miltiorrhiza could result in stunted growth and reduced biomass, but their molecular mechanisms have not yet been revealed. Through continuous backcross and testcross in 2006–2009, we established that this male sterile mutant of S. miltiorrhiza was GMS type [7, 8]. S. miltiorrhiza is generally used as a medicinal plant and has been widely used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, and acute ischemic stroke [14,15,16,17,18]. Since the discovery of the male sterile mutants of S. miltiorrhiza, we have created and developed near-isogenic male fertile lines (MF) and near-isogenic male sterile lines (MS) through multiple consecutive testcrosses and backcrosses [20]. It promises possibility to achieve stable and controllable quality of active ingredients
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