Abstract
Cynomorium songaricum is a root holoparasitic herb that is mainly hosted in the roots of Nitraria roborowskii and Nitraria sibirica distributed in the arid desert and saline-alkaline regions. The stem of C. songaricum is widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine and applied in anti-viral, anti-obesity and anti-diabetes, which largely rely on the bioactive components including: polysaccharides, flavonoids and triterpenes. Although the differences in growth characteristics of C. songaricum between N. roborowskii and N. sibirica have been reported, the difference of the two hosts on growth and polysaccharides biosynthesis in C. songaricum as well as regulation mechanism are not limited. Here, the physiological characteristics and transcriptome of C. songaricum host in N. roborowskii (CR) and N. sibirica (CS) were conducted. The results showed that the fresh weight, soluble sugar content and antioxidant capacity on a per stem basis exhibited a 3.3-, 3.0- and 2.1-fold increase in CR compared to CS. A total of 16,921 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed in CR versus CS, with 2573 characterized genes, 1725 up-regulated and 848 down-regulated. Based on biological functions, 50 DEGs were associated with polysaccharides and starch metabolism as well as their transport. The expression levels of the selected 37 genes were validated by qRT-PCR and almost consistent with their Reads Per kb per Million values. These findings would provide useful references for improving the yield and quality of C. songaricum.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilCynomorium songaricum Rupr. is a root holoparasitic herb that is mainly hosted in the roots of Nitraria L., and widely distributed in the arid desert and saline-alkaline regions in northwest of China including: Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia [1,2].As a traditional Chinese medicine, the stem of C. songaricum is generally used to tonify kidney yang, replenish essence and blood and relax the bowels [3,4]
The stem has been applied in anti-viral, anti-oxidation, anti-obesity, anti-diabetes, antitumor and ameliorates Alzheimer’s disease [5,6,7,8,9,10], which largely rely on the bioactive components including: polysaccharides, flavonoids, triterpenes and liposoluble constituents [5,11,12,13,14,15,16]
Images (A–D) as well as (E,F) represent soluble sugar content, DPPH scavenging activity as well as FRAP value on an fresh weight (FW) and per stem basis, respectively
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilCynomorium songaricum Rupr. is a root holoparasitic herb that is mainly hosted in the roots of Nitraria L., and widely distributed in the arid desert and saline-alkaline regions in northwest of China including: Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia [1,2].As a traditional Chinese medicine, the stem of C. songaricum is generally used to tonify kidney yang, replenish essence and blood and relax the bowels [3,4]. Is a root holoparasitic herb that is mainly hosted in the roots of Nitraria L., and widely distributed in the arid desert and saline-alkaline regions in northwest of China including: Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia [1,2]. The genus Nitraria L. is a perennial shrub and always used as a vital ecological protection plant for windbreak and sand fixation [17]. It contains 11 species in the world and 6 of them are in China [18]. C. songaricum is found to mainly host in four species including: N. roborowskii Kom., N. sibirica Pall., N. tangutorum Bobr. C. songaricum is found to mainly host in four species including: N. roborowskii Kom., N. sibirica Pall., N. tangutorum Bobr. and N. sphaerocarpa
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