Abstract
Herba Epimedii, as a traditional Chinese herb, is divided into large and small flower taxa, and can invigorate sexuality and strengthen muscles and bones. Herba Epimedii is rich in flavonoids, which largely contribute to its medicinal benefits. In our previous studies, we have found that the flavonoids content was much more in small than large flower taxa. To further identify molecular mechanisms of flavonoids metabolism in Herba Epimedii, combined metabolome and transcriptomic analyses were performed to profile leaves and flowers. Association analysis revealed that the expression of genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis showed significant differences between small and large flower taxa. Eleven flavonols significantly increased in small compared to large flower taxa. Moreover, genes encoding O-methyltransferase played crucial roles in flavonoids metabolism by an integrated analysis. Taken together, these data highlight the breeding tendency of small flower taxa to improve the quality of Herba Epimedii.
Highlights
Herba Epimedii, as a traditional Chinese herb, is divided into large and small flower taxa, and can invigorate sexuality and strengthen muscles and bones
We identified 16 major flavonoids of leaves in the eight cultivars, including four large flower taxa cultivars that included Epimedium glandulosopilosum H.R
The results showed the enrichment of flavonoid biosynthesis, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, isoflavonoid biosynthesis, and upstream phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways in all samples
Summary
Herba Epimedii, as a traditional Chinese herb, is divided into large and small flower taxa, and can invigorate sexuality and strengthen muscles and bones. Genes encoding O-methyltransferase played crucial roles in flavonoids metabolism by an integrated analysis Taken together, these data highlight the breeding tendency of small flower taxa to improve the quality of Herba Epimedii. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses can be applied to study the metabolic pathways of s ubstances[13,14], the color formation of vegetables, fruits, and flowers[15,16], stress resistance mechanisms[17,18], and the growth and development mechanisms of plants[19,20]. The combination of these approaches can be used to elucidate changes in the content of metabolites, but holds utility for the analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs)
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