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. 2020 Oct 16:11:583245.
doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.583245. eCollection 2020.

Differential Expression of Genes Involved in Saikosaponin Biosynthesis Between Bupleurum chinense DC. and Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd

Ma Yu  1   2 , Hua Chen  2 , Shi-Hang Liu  3 , Yu-Chan Li  2 , Chun Sui  1 , Da-Bin Hou  2 , Jian-He Wei  1
Affiliations

Differential Expression of Genes Involved in Saikosaponin Biosynthesis Between Bupleurum chinense DC. and Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd

Ma Yu et al. Front Genet. .

Abstract

Radix Bupleuri (roots of Bupleurum spp.) is an important medicinal herb. Triterpenoid saponins of saikosaponins generally constitute the main class of secondary metabolites of plants in the Bupleurum genus. However, the molecular regulatory mechanism underlying their biosynthesis remains elusive. In this study, we observed significantly different saikosaponin biosynthesis between Bupleurum chinense and Bupleurum scorzonerifolium at the seedling stage. The sequential and expression characterization of 232 genes in the triterpenoid saponin biosynthetic pathway, which includes the mevalonate (MVA) pathway and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway, between B. chinense and B. scorzonerifolium was also investigated. Sixty of these genes may be involved in saikosaponin biosynthesis. Manipulation of these genes, especially those of the β-AS, P450, and UGT families, may improve saikosaponin production.

Keywords: Bupleurum; P450; gene expression; saikosaponin biosynthesis; transcriptome analysis.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Putative triterpenoid backbone biosynthesis pathway (MVA and MEP) in Bupleurum chinense DC. and Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. and gene expression profiles of the key enzymes. All genes outside of these pathways showed significantly differential expression in S3 of B. chinense. The genes with asterisks also showed significantly differential expression in S3 of B. scorzonerifolium. The genes with solid dots indicate those detected only in B. chinense DC. The samples include S1 (F), S2 (T), and S3 (M) in B. chinense (CBC) and B. scorzonerifolium (CHC).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Gene expression profiles of candidate P450s involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins. All these genes showed significantly differential expression in S3 of Bupleurum chinense DC. The genes with asterisks also showed significantly differential expression in S3 of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. The sample information is listed in Figure 1.
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