Α-linolenic Acid Metabolism Research Articles

Wuwei Qingzhuo San Ameliorates Hyperlipidemia in Mice Fed With HFD by Regulating Metabolomics and Intestinal Flora Composition.

Hyperlipidemia is one of the most common metabolic disorders that threaten people’s health. Wuwei Qingzhuo San (WQS) is a traditional Mongolian medicine prescription, which is widely used in Mongolia for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Our previous studies found that it has hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects on hyperlipidemic hamsters. However, the underlying lipid-lowering mechanisms of WQS and its relationship with intestinal flora are not yet clear. In this study, 16 S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics were performed to investigate the action mechanism of WQS on hyperlipidemic mice induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). As a result, metabolic pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the intervention of WQS had obviously modulated the metabolism of α-linolenic acid and linoleic acid and the biosynthesis of bile acids. 16 S rRNA sequencing showed that WQS had altered the composition of the intestinal microbiota in hyperlipidemic mice fed with HFD and, especially, adjusted the relative abundance ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroides. These findings provide new evidence that WQS can improve HFD-induced hyperlipidemia by regulating metabolic disorders and intestinal flora imbalance.

Alteration of fecal microbiome and metabolome by mung bean coat improves diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice

Dysbiosis of gut microbiota and its derived metabolites has been linked to the occurrence and development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Our previous study has demonstrated that mung bean coat (MBC) might be mainly responsible for the beneficial effects of whole mung bean on high fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic disorders. To investigate whether MBC, which is rich in dietary fiber and phytochemicals, can protect against HFD-induced hepatic steatosis in mice via targeting gut microbiota and its metabolites, we conducted this study. Results showed that MBC could effectively alleviative the obese phenotype, reduce the lipid accumulation and insulin resistance, and improve the hepatic oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Furthermore, MBC significantly prevented the HFD-induced changes in the structure and composition of gut microbiota, characterized by promoting the bloom of Akkermansia, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and norank_f_Muribaculaceae, and along with the elevated short-chain fatty acids concentrations. Non-targeted metabolomic analysis indicated a metabolism disorder that was obviously improved by MBC via regulating sphingolipid metabolism and α-linolenic acid metabolism. These findings suggested that MBC could improve hepatic steatosis through manipulating the crosstalk between gut microbiota and its metabolites.

Methyl jasmonate treatment regulates α-linolenic acid metabolism and jasmonate acid signaling pathway to improve chilling tolerance in both stony hard and melting flesh peaches

Peach are susceptible to chilling injury (CI) when stored at a low temperature and the postharvest application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is well known to alleviate CI in peach fruit. However, the optimal dose for the treatment of MeJA is still debated in peaches and the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. In this study, we screened the optimal concentration of MeJA treatment in stony hard and melting flesh peaches, then investigated the involvement of α-linolenic acid metabolism and jasmonate acid (JA) signaling pathway in the MeJA-induced chilling tolerance. The results showed that 10 mol L−1 was the broad-spectrum concentration of MeJA treatment for CI alleviation in the two peach cultivars. Also, MeJA treatment improved the degree of fatty acid unsaturation in cell membrane by delaying the decrease in unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs) and the increase in saturated fatty acids (SFAs), resulting in the activation of α-linolenic acid metabolism. Correspondingly, it maintained a higher concentration of α-linolenic acid and higher activities of lipoxygenase (LOX), allene oxide synthase (AOS) and allene oxide cyclase (AOC). It also induced the expressions of PpLOX, PpAOS, PpAOC, PpACOX and PpFadA in peaches during the end of the cold storage at 5 °C and the shelf-life at 20 ℃. Meanwhile, the increased α-linolenic acid metabolism in MeJA treated fruit led to accumulations in JA and jasmonic acid isoleucine (JA-Ile), which boosted the JA signaling pathway by up-regulating the expressions of PpCOI1, PpJAZ and PpMYC2. Thus, it was suggested that MeJA treatment activated α-linolenic acid metabolism and JA signaling pathway might be contributing to alleviating CI in peaches during cold storage.

Transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals the molecular mechanisms of Tamarix taklamakanensis under progressive drought and rehydration treatments

Tamarix taklamakanensis M. T. Liu is a perennial shrub that is highly tolerant to drought and can be used as an ideal material for investigating the molecular mechanisms of drought resistance. Here, we revealed the response of T. taklamakanensis to drought stress and rehydration treatment through physiological, transcriptomic and metabolic analyses. T. taklamakanensis seedlings were subjected to 0 (D0), 7 (D7) and 14 (D14) days of progressive drought stress followed by rewatering for 10 days (R10). These results indicated that drought stress influenced the plant phenotypic characteristics, physiological traits and enzyme activities. A total of 1618, 2716 and 485 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in D7/D0, D14/D0 and R10/D0 were identified. These DEGs were involved in tryptophan and α-linolenic acid metabolism, flavonoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. The contents of lipids and organic acids increased under drought for 7 days. Most alkaloids, amino acids and their derivatives, lignans and coumarins were increased under drought for 14 days and rewatering for 10 days. T. taklamakanensis responds to drought conditions by regulating the cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis, the flavonoid pathway and α-linolenic acid metabolism, and responds to rewatering conditions by regulating the flavonoid pathway and α-linolenic acid metabolism, which provides reference data for further understanding the regulatory mechanism of drought tolerance in Tamarix.

Uncovering the Gene Regulatory Network of Maize Hybrid ZD309 under Heat Stress by Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis.

Maize is an important cereal crop but is sensitive to heat stress, which significantly restricts its grain yield. To explore the molecular mechanism of maize heat tolerance, a heat-tolerant hybrid ZD309 and its parental lines (H39_1 and M189) were subjected to heat stress, followed by transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. After six-day-heat treatment, the growth of ZD309 and its parental lines were suppressed, showing dwarf stature and rolled leaf compared with the control plants. ZD309 exhibited vigorous growth; however, M189 displayed superior heat tolerance. By transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis, hundreds to thousands of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and metabolites (DEMs) were identified. Notably, the female parent H39 shares more DEGs and DEMs with the hybrid ZD309, indicating more genetic gain derived from the female instead of the male. A total of 299 heat shock genes detected among three genotypes were greatly aggregated in sugar transmembrane transporter activity, plasma membrane, photosynthesis, protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum, cysteine, and methionine metabolism. A total of 150 heat-responsive metabolites detected among three genotypes were highly accumulated, including jasmonic acid, amino acids, sugar, flavonoids, coumarin, and organic acids. Integrating transcriptomic and metabolomic assays revealed that plant hormone signal transduction, cysteine, and methionine metabolism, and α-linolenic acid metabolism play crucial roles in heat tolerance in maize. Our research will be facilitated to identify essential heat tolerance genes in maize, thereby contributing to breeding heat resistance maize varieties.

Changes in Gene Expression in Leaves of Cacao Genotypes Resistant and Susceptible to Phytophthora palmivora Infection.

Black pod rot, caused by Phytophthora palmivora, is a devastating disease of Theobroma cacao L. (cacao) leading to huge losses for farmers and limiting chocolate industry supplies. To understand resistance responses of cacao leaves to P. palmivora, Stage 2 leaves of genotypes Imperial College Selection 1 (ICS1), Colección Castro Naranjal 51 (CCN51), and Pound7 were inoculated with zoospores and monitored for symptoms up to 48 h. Pound7 consistently showed less necrosis than ICS1 and CCN51 48 h after inoculation. RNA-Seq was carried out on samples 24 h post inoculation. A total of 24,672 expressed cacao genes were identified, and 2,521 transcripts showed induction in at least one P. palmivora-treated genotype compared to controls. There were 115 genes induced in the P. palmivora-treated samples in all three genotypes. Many of the differentially expressed genes were components of KEGG pathways important in plant defense signal perception (the plant MAPK signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, and plant pathogen interactions), and plant defense metabolite biosynthesis (phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, α-linolenic acid metabolism, ethylene biosynthesis, and terpenoid backbone biosynthesis). A search of putative cacao resistance genes within the cacao transcriptome identified 89 genes with prominent leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains, 170 protein kinases encoding genes, 210 genes with prominent NB-ARC domains, 305 lectin-related genes, and 97 cysteine-rich RK genes. We further analyzed the cacao leaf transcriptome in detail focusing on gene families-encoding proteins important in signal transduction (MAP kinases and transcription factors) and direct plant defense (Germin-like, ubiquitin-associated, lectin-related, pathogenesis-related, glutathione-S-transferases, and proteases). There was a massive reprogramming of defense gene processes in susceptible cacao leaf tissue after infection, which was restricted in the resistant genotype Pound7. Most genes induced in Pound7 were induced in ICS1/CCN51. The level of induction was not always proportional to the infection level, raising the possibility that genes are responding to infection more strongly in Pound7. There were also defense-associated genes constitutively differentially expressed at higher levels in specific genotypes, possibly providing a prepositioned defense. Many of the defense genes occur in blocks where members are constitutively expressed at different levels, and some members are induced by Ppal infection. With further study, the identified candidate genes and gene blocks may be useful as markers for breeding disease-resistant cacao genotypes against P. palmivora.

Integrated Volatile Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Analyses Reveal the Influence of Infection TuMV to Volatile Organic Compounds in Brassica rapa

Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), which is distributed almost all over the world and has a wide range of hosts, mainly brassica crops, was first described in Brassica rapa in the USA. Plant volatile compounds play an important role in the host searching behavior of natural enemies of herbivorous insects. In this study, TuMV-inoculated resistant and susceptible B. rapa lines were tested using volatile metabolome and transcriptome analyses. In volatile metabolome analysis, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were different after inoculation with TuMV in resistant B80124 and susceptible B80461, and the degree of downregulation of differentially expressed metabolites was more obvious than the degree of upregulation. Through transcriptome analysis, 70% of differentially expressed genes were in biological process, especially focusing on defense response, flavonoid biosynthetic process, and toxin metabolic process, which indicates that TuMV stress maybe accelerate the increase of VOCs. Integrating the metabolome and transcriptome analyses, after inoculating with TuMV, auxin regulation was upregulated, and ARF, IAA and GH3 were also upregulated, which accelerated cell enlargement and plant growth in tryptophan metabolism. The different genes in zeatin biosynthesis pathways were downregulated, which reduced cell division and shoot initiation. However, the metabolite pathways showed upregulation in brassinosteroid biosynthesis and α-linolenic acid metabolism, which could cause cell enlargement and a stress response. This study determined the difference in volatiles between normal plants and infected plants and may lay a foundation for anti-TuMV research in B. rapa.

Compound green tea (CGT) regulates lipid metabolism in high-fat diet induced mice.

This work aims to study the effect of compound green tea (CGT) on liver lipid metabolism in mice based on metabolomics of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and preliminarily identify potential biomarkers and pathways of action by using a metabonomic network database to explore the lipid-lowering effect of CGT. In this study, forty mice were randomly divided into four groups: compound tea treatment group (DH), high-fat model control group (NK), normal control group (CK) and positive drug group (YK). After a month of different interventions, the mice were weighed and the blood lipid indexes were detected. In addition, differential liver metabolites were monitored by using LC-MS. The results showed that CGT and positive drug treatment were able to decrease body weight, liver coefficient, TC, TG and LDL levels of obese mice, while increasing HDL levels. Among the 110 compounds obtained, 54 metabolites were significantly altered in the four comparisons. More importantly, 15 remarkably downregulated metabolites involved in Lysopc 16:1, Lysopc 18:1, and Lysopc 18:2 were found in the DH group when the mice were treated with CGT; meanwhile, the positive drug Xuezhikang was able to significantly downregulate 14 compounds, including (±)18-HEPE, and 6 keto-PGF1α, compared with the NK group. Besides, KEGG enrichment analysis also revealed the important metabolic pathways, such as linoleic acid metabolism, Biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and α-linolenic acid metabolism, were related to fatty acid metabolism. These results suggested that CGT could regulate the lipid metabolism in the liver of hyperlipidemia mice, and may regulate 54 potential biomarkers in mice through a related metabolic pathway to make them return to a normal state and improve the disorder of lipid metabolism.

α-Linolenic acid metabolism in human CD3+ T cells is dependent on n-6/n-3 ratio and age

α-Linolenic acid metabolism in human CD3+ T cells is dependent on n-6/n-3 ratio and age

Gene screening for fatty acid synthesis of flax based on transcriptome sequencing

To understand differential expression of genes (DEGs) based on transcriptome and transcription features of fatty acid desaturase genes (fads) in development of oil flax capsules. Three varieties of flax with high, medium and low linolenic acid (C18:3) content was investigated. The differential expressed genes (DEGs) of seed developing periods (15 d and 30 d after flowering, DAF) were compared with that of the flowering day based on RNA sequencing technology. DEGs related to fatty acid accumulation were distinguished and compared with Gene Ontolygy (GO) database and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway. In the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and α-linolenic acid metabolism, DEGs acted in multiple processes and signaling pathways. Lus_GLEAN_10046787, Lus_GLEAN_10024616, Lus_GLEAN_10024710, Lus_GLEAN_10046516, scaffold280_unigene_193 and scaffold272_unigene_19 participated in 23, 11, 12, 12, 12, 13 processes in GO description, respectively. And they acted in fatty acid degradation (ath00071), metabolism (ath01212), biosynthesis (ath00061) and elongation (ath00062) in the KEGG signaling pathway. The scaffold96_unigene_47 was differentially expressed between FR46 and FR48 with different linolenic acid contents. The DEGs can be utilized describe the structure and transcription expression features, which contribute to the selection and utilization of flax breeding lines.

Partitioning of α-Linolenic acid metabolism towards 20:3n-3 synthesis rather than 18- carbon oxylipin production alters with age, which is consistent with induction of a more inflammatory phenotype in older individuals

Partitioning of α-Linolenic acid metabolism towards 20:3n-3 synthesis rather than 18- carbon oxylipin production alters with age, which is consistent with induction of a more inflammatory phenotype in older individuals - Volume 81 Issue OCE5

The phytotoxicity of exposure to two polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDE47 and BDE209) on photosynthesis and the response of the hormone signaling and ROS scavenging system in tobacco leaves

To reveal the response and adaptative mechanism of plants to the organic pollutants PBDEs, physiological and transcriptomic techniques were used to study the effects of exposure to BDE47 and BDE209 on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plant growth, physiological function and response of key genes. Exposure to both BDE47 and BDE209 inhibited the growth of tobacco plants. The number of down-regulated DEGs following exposure to BDE47 was significantly higher than that following exposure to BDE209. Enrichment analysis using the KEGG showed that BDE47 and BDE209 primarily affected tobacco leaf photosynthesis-antenna proteins, photosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction and α-linolenic acid metabolism. BDE47 primarily inhibits the synthesis of Chl a, and BDE209 has a more significant impact on Chl b. Most photosynthesis-related DEGs were concentrated in PSII and PSI; the number of down-regulated DEGs in PSI was significantly higher than that in PSII, and the range in which the PSI activity was reduced was also higher than that of PSII, i.e., PSII and PSI (particularly PSI) were sensitive to the effects of exposure to BDE47 and BDE209 on photosynthesis. The increase of the ratio of regulatory energy dissipation played an important protective role in alleviating the photoinhibition of PSII. Exposure to BDE47 and BDE209 can lead to the accumulation of ROS in tobacco leaves, but correspondingly, the activities of antioxidant enzymes SOD, POD, CAT, APX and GPX and the up-regulated expression of their coding genes play an important role in preventing excessive oxidative damage. Exposure to BDE47 and BDE209 promoted the up-regulation of gene expression related to Pro synthesis. In particular, the Pro synthetic process of the Orn pathway was promoted. Exposure to BDE47 and BDE209 induced the up-regulated expression of genes related to the synthesis of ABA and JA, promoted the synthesis of ABA and JA, and activated ABA and JA signal transduction pathways. In conclusion, both BDE47 and BDE209 inhibit the synthesis of chlorophyll and hinder the process of light energy capture and electron transfer in tobacco leaves. BDE47 was more toxic than BDE209. However, tobacco leaves can also adapt to BDE47 and BDE209 by regulating the antioxidant system, accumulating Pro and initiating the hormone signal transduction process. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the phytotoxicity mechanism of PBDEs.

Revealing the Specific Regulations of Brassinolide on Tomato Fruit Chilling Injury by Integrated Multi-Omics.

Tomato fruit is susceptible to chilling injury (CI) when stored at low temperatures, limiting its storage potential, and resulting in economic loss if inappropriate temperatures are used. Brassinolide (BR) is a plant growth regulator that is known to decrease the susceptibility of fruit to CI. In this study, transcriptome, metabolome, and proteome analysis revealed the regulation mechanism of BR treatment in alleviating tomato fruit CI. The results showed that the differentially expressed metabolites mainly included amino acids, organic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were involved in plant cold stress response (HSFA3, SHSP, and TPR), fruit redox process (POD, PAL, and LOX), related to the fruit texture (CESA, β-Gal, and PAE), plant hormone signal transduction (ACS3, ARF, and ERF,), transcription factors (TCP, bHLH, GATA). Moreover, differentially expressed proteins were associated with fruit texture (CESA, PE, PL, and CHI), plant oxidation processes (LOX, GPX, CAT, and POD), plant cold stress response (HSF, HSP20, HSP70, and HSP90B), plant hormone signal transduction (BSK1 and JAR1) and transcription factors (WRKY and MYB). Our study showed that BR alleviates CI symptoms of tomato fruit by regulating LOX in the α-linolenic acid metabolism pathway, enhancing jasmonic acid-CoA (JA-CoA) synthesis, inhibiting cell wall and membrane lipid damage. The results provided a theoretical basis for further study on the CI mechanism of tomato fruit.

Analysis of Serum Metabolomics in Obese Mice Induced by High-Fat Diet.

BackgroundObesity is a public health problem all over the world, and dietary habits are considered one of the important reasons.MethodsIn this study, serum metabolites of mice fed a normal or high-fat diet (HFD) were analyzed using UPLC-QTOF-MS.ResultsA significant increase in body weight was noted in HFD mice. The HFD and control groups were significantly different from each other on OPLS-DA scores. The major metabolites contributing to obesity were lipid metabolites (phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamine, and lysophosphatidylcholines). In addition, this study revealed that glycerophospholipid metabolism, α-linolenic acid metabolism, and linoleic acid metabolism were related to obesity and obesity-associated diseases.ConclusionThese results can be used to better understand obesity and assess its risk, which will provide new ideas for treatment.

Physiological and transcriptome analysis of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in improving Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis stress tolerance at high temperatures

Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, an economically important red seaweed in China, is currently undergoing high-temperature (HT) stress due to global warming. To alleviate summertime HT stress, algae can acquire resistance through metabolism reprogramming and modulation of stress-related gene expression. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein four‑carbon amino acid, plays an important role in regulating various abiotic stresses. In the present study, GABA was applied to examine the effect on the tolerance of G. lemaneiformis against HT stress. It turned out that exogenous 100 mg/L GABA remarkably improved the algal relative growth rate (RGR) and phycobiliprotein (PBP) contents compared to those in the no-GABA treatment group under HT conditions. In addition, GABA significantly elevated the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) to efficiently scavenge ROS, thereby reducing oxidative damage to the membranes of HT-stressed algae. Subsequently, a de novo transcriptomic assembly of G. lemaneiformis thalli was performed to analyze transcriptional responses to HT stress. GABA significantly upregulated the expression of genes encoding antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, POD, PRXR and APX), triggered calmodulin (CaM) and calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) signaling, and improved the expression of genes encoding heat shock proteins (HSP70s and HSP90s) during HT stress. Moreover, GABA enhanced the expression of genes involved in proline and polyamine (PA) synthesis, TCA cycle, amino acid metabolism and α-linolenic acid metabolism in G. lemaneiformis, which helped to maintain better energy supply and metabolic homeostasis under HT stress. Collectively, these data reveals the critical roles of GABA in antioxidant activation, molecular signaling and energy metabolism that coordinately contribute to the improvement of HT stress tolerance in G. lemaneiformis. These data will also be useful for breeding heat-tolerant G. lemaneiformis genotypes in the future.

Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Changes in Plasma Metabolites in Response to Acute Cold Stress and Their Relationships to Metabolic Health in Cold-Acclimatized Humans.

Cold exposure results in activation of metabolic processes required for fueling thermogenesis, potentially promoting improved metabolic health. However, the metabolic complexity underlying this process is not completely understood. We aimed to analyze changes in plasma metabolites related to acute cold exposure and their relationship to cold-acclimatization level and metabolic health in cold-acclimatized humans. Blood samples were obtained before and acutely after 10–15 min of ice-water swimming (<5 °C) from 14 ice-water swimmers. Using mass spectrometry, 973 plasma metabolites were measured. Ice-water swimming induced acute changes in 70 metabolites. Pathways related to amino acid metabolism were the most cold-affected and cold-induced changes in several amino acids correlated with cold-acclimatization level and/or metabolic health markers, including atherogenic lipid profile or insulin resistance. Metabolites correlating with cold-acclimatization level were enriched in the linoleic/α-linolenic acid metabolic pathway. N-lactoyl-tryptophan correlated with both cold-acclimatization level and cold-induced changes in thyroid and parathyroid hormones. Acute cold stress in cold-acclimatized humans induces changes in plasma metabolome that involve amino acids metabolism, while the linoleic and α-linolenic acid metabolism pathway seems to be affected by regular cold exposure. Metabolites related to metabolic health, thermogenic hormonal regulators and acclimatization level might represent prospective molecular factors important in metabolic adaptations to regular cold exposure.

Integrative iTRAQ-based proteomic and transcriptomic analysis reveals the accumulation patterns of key metabolites associated with oil quality during seed ripening of Camellia oleifera

Camellia oleifera (C. oleifera) is one of the four major woody oil-bearing crops in the world and has relatively high ecological, economic, and medicinal value. Its seeds undergo a series of complex physiological and biochemical changes during ripening, which is mainly manifested as the accumulation and transformation of certain metabolites closely related to oil quality, especially flavonoids and fatty acids. To obtain new insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms, a parallel analysis of the transcriptome and proteome profiles of C. oleifera seeds at different maturity levels was conducted using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) complemented with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) data. A total of 16,530 transcripts and 1228 proteins were recognized with significant differential abundances in pairwise comparisons of samples at various developmental stages. Among these, 317 were coexpressed with a poor correlation, and most were involved in metabolic processes, including fatty acid metabolism, α-linolenic acid metabolism, and glutathione metabolism. In addition, the content of total flavonoids decreased gradually with seed maturity, and the levels of fatty acids generally peaked at the fat accumulation stage; these results basically agreed with the regulation patterns of genes or proteins in the corresponding pathways. The expression levels of proteins annotated as upstream candidates of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and chalcone synthase (CHS) as well as their cognate transcripts were positively correlated with the variation in the flavonoid content, while shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT)-encoding genes had the opposite pattern. The increase in the abundance of proteins and mRNAs corresponding to alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was associated with a reduction in linoleic acid synthesis. Using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), we further identified six unique modules related to flavonoid, oil, and fatty acid anabolism that contained hub genes or proteins similar to transcription factors (TFs), such as MADS intervening keratin-like and C-terminal (MIKC_MADS), type-B authentic response regulator (ARR-B), and basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH). Finally, based on the known metabolic pathways and WGCNA combined with the correlation analysis, five coexpressed transcripts and proteins composed of cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenases (CADs), caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase (COMT), flavonol synthase (FLS), and 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL) were screened out. With this exploratory multiomics dataset, our results presented a dynamic picture regarding the maturation process of C. oleifera seeds on Hainan Island, not only revealing the temporal specific expression of key candidate genes and proteins but also providing a scientific basis for the genetic improvement of this tree species.

Proteomics and metabolomics analyses reveal the full spectrum of inflammatory and lipid metabolic abnormalities in dyslipidemia.

Dyslipidemia is a common, chronic metabolic disease associated with cardiovascular complications. Due to the multiplicity of etiological factors, the pathogenesis of dyslipidemia is still unclear. In this study, we combined proteomics and metabolomics methods to analyze the plasma of patients with dyslipidemia and healthy subjects. isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) markers, combined with LC-MS/MS proteomics technology and the UHPLC/Orbitfast-X Tribrid system, were used to establish the metabolite profile in clinical dyslipidemia. A total of 137 differentially expressed proteins, mainly related to biological processes such as protein activation cascades, adaptive immune responses, complement activation, acute inflammatory responses, and regulation of acute inflammatory responses, were identified. These proteins are involved in the regulation of important metabolic pathways, such as immunity and inflammation, coagulation and hemostasis, lipid metabolism, and oxidation and antioxidant defenses. The analysis of clinical metabolites showed there were 69 different metabolites in plasma, mainly related to glycerolipid, sphingolipid, porphyrin, α-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid metabolism, suggesting that the regulation of inflammation and lipid metabolism may be disturbed in patients with dyslipidemia. Among these, significant changes were observed in indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), which is considered as a potential biomarker of dyslipidemia. The combined analysis of proteins and metabolites showed that arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and lipid metabolic pathways were closely related to dyslipidemia. IPA may be a potential biomarker. The information provided in this study may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of animal models of dyslipidemia and related disease models, as well as potential intervention targets.

De novo Transcriptome Sequencing Coupled With Co-expression Analysis Reveal the Transcriptional Regulation of Key Genes Involved in the Formation of Active Ingredients in Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn Under Bolting Period.

Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn is a perennial and one-off flowering plant of the Peucedanum genus in Umbelliferae. The cultivated P. praeruptorum Dunn usually grows nutritionally in the first year and then moves into the reproductive growth in the second year. The lignification of the roots caused by bolting leads to the quality decline of crude materials. Since most of the previous studies have dealt with coumarin biosynthesis and identification of functional genes in P. praeruptorum, the scientific connotation of the inability that the bolted P. praeruptorum cannot be used medically is still unclear. Here, we employed a transcriptome sequencing combined with coexpression analysis to unearth the regulation mechanism of key genes related to coumarin synthesis in pre- and postbolting period, and to explore the mechanisms underlying the effects of bolting on the formation and transport of coumarins between the annual and biennial plants. Six cDNA libraries were constructed, and the transcripts were sequenced and assembled by Illumina Hiseq platform. A total of 336,505 unigenes were obtained from 824,129 non-redundant spliced transcripts. Unigenes (114,488) were annotated to the NCBI nr database, 119,017 and 10,475 unigenes were aligned to Gene Ontology (GO) functional groups and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, respectively. Differential expression analysis screened out a series of upregulated and downregulated genes related to the phenylpropanoid pathway. The heatmap clustering showed that the similar expression patterns were both observed in groups C vs. D and groups C vs. F. The WGCNA-based coexpression was performed to elucidate the module and trait relationship to unearth important genes related to the bolting process. Seven pivotal modules on the KEGG functional annotations suggested these genes were mainly enriched in the process of plant–pathogen interaction, plant hormone signal transduction, MAPK signaling pathway, α-linolenic acid metabolism, circadian rhythm, and phenylpropanoid pathway. Further analysis provided clues that the key genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway, the ABC transporters, the apoptosis-related and circadian rhythm regulatory genes may play pivotal roles in regulating bolting signaling, biosynthesis, and transportation of coumarins.

High-Throughput Untargeted Serum Metabolomics Analysis of Hyperuricemia Patients by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS.

Hyperuricemia (HUA) as a metabolic disease is closely associated with metabolic disorders. The etiology and pathogenesis of HUA are not fully understood, so there is no radical cure so far. Metabolomics, a specialized study of endogenous small molecule substances, has become a powerful tool for metabolic pathway analysis of selected differential metabolites, which is helpful for initially revealing possible development mechanisms of various human diseases. Twenty HUA patients and 20 healthy individuals participated in the experiment, and ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was employed to investigate serum samples to find differential metabolites. The statistical techniques used were principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis. The differences in metabolomics results of samples after pretreatment with different solvents were compared, 38, 20, 26, 28, 33, 50, and 40 potential differential metabolites were found, respectively, in HUA patient samples, and each group involved different metabolic pathways. Repetitive metabolites were removed, 138 differential metabolites in HUA serum were integrated for analysis, and the human body was affected by 7 metabolic pathways of glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, and α-linolenic acid metabolism. In this work, the metabolomics approach based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS was employed to investigate serum metabolic changes in HUA patients, 138 potential differential metabolites related to HUA were identified, which provided associations of lipids, amino acids, fatty acids, organic acids, and nucleosides profiles of HUA individuals. Metabolic pathways involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, and a-linolenic acid metabolism shed light on the understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis process of HUA.