Abstract
Herb genomics is of great significance to studies of molecular breeding, secondary metabolite regulation, and quality control of medicinal plants. We isolated SmCOI1 gene from the medicinal plant Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge by screening genome databases and analyzed the structure and expression pattern of this gene. For functional analysis, we down-regulated SmCOI1 expression in S. miltiorrhiza ( iCOI1s ) via RNA interference. Tests conducted to examine pest resistance revealed that leaf damage scores of iCOI1s were much higher than those of wild-type plants, whereas the expression of defense genes ( NPR1 and WRKY70 ) was significantly reduced in iCOI1s . Major secondary metabolite contents of S. miltiorrhiza (rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, cryptotanshinone, and tanshinones IIA) were significantly reduced compared with those of wild-type plants. Furthermore, the expression of key genes involved in tanshinones and salvianolic acid biosynthesis pathways ( HMGR , GGPPS , CPS , KSL , CYP76AH1 , C4H , RAS , and HCT ) was also down-regulated in iCOI1 plants. Our results indicated that SmCOI1 plays a critical role in pest resistance and secondary metabolism regulation in S. miltiorrhiza , paving the way for the breeding of high-quality medical plants.
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