Abstract
BackgroundSalvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal plants with high medicinal value. Gibberellins are growth-promoting phytohormones that regulate numerous growth and developmental processes in plants. However, their role on the secondary metabolism regulation has not been investigated.ResultsIn this study, we found that gibberellic acid (GA) can promote hairy roots growth and increase the contents of tanshinones and phenolic acids. Transcriptomic sequencing revealed that many genes involved in the secondary metabolism pathway were the GA-responsive. After further analysis of GA signaling pathway genes, which their expression profiles have significantly changed, it was found that the GRAS transcription factor family had a significant response to GA. We identified 35 SmGRAS genes in S. miltiorrhiza, which can be divided into 10 subfamilies. Thereafter, members of the same subfamily showed similar conserved motifs and gene structures, suggesting possible conserved functions.ConclusionsMost SmGRAS genes were significantly responsive to GA, indicating that they may play an important role in the GA signaling pathway, also participating in the GA regulation of root growth and secondary metabolism in S. miltiorrhiza.
Highlights
Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal plants with high medicinal value
gibberellic acid (GA) treatment affects root growth and secondary metabolism The S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots were treated with GA during their growth
Transcriptome-scale analysis of GA-responsive genes In order to gain a comprehensive overview of the GAresponsive genes, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of CK and GA-treated hairy roots. 10321 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found and annotated in the volcano plot
Summary
Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal plants with high medicinal value. Gibberellins are growth-promoting phytohormones that regulate numerous growth and developmental processes in plants. Their role on the secondary metabolism regulation has not been investigated. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine with high medicinal and economic value. The Chinese pharmacopeia stipulates that the medicinal part of S. miltiorrhiza is its dried root. There are two major bioactive components of S. miltiorrhiza, lipophilic tanshinones and hydrophilic phenolic acids [2]. Li et al BMC Genomics (2020) 21:727 addition elicitor, overexpressing or suppressing genes codifying to enzymes or transcription factors involved in the biosynthetic pathways of these secondary metabolites. The regulation of gibberellin on secondary metabolites biosynthesis remains unknown
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