Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 20:13:900030.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.900030. eCollection 2022.

Integrative Metabolome and Transcriptome Analysis of Flavonoid Biosynthesis Genes in Broussonetia papyrifera Leaves From the Perspective of Sex Differentiation

Peng Jiao  1 , Li Chaoyang  2 , Zhai Wenhan  3 , Dai Jingyi  1 , Zhao Yunlin  1 , Xu Zhenggang  1   3
Affiliations

Integrative Metabolome and Transcriptome Analysis of Flavonoid Biosynthesis Genes in Broussonetia papyrifera Leaves From the Perspective of Sex Differentiation

Peng Jiao et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Flavonoids are important secondary metabolites involved in plant development and environmental responses. Sex differences in flavonoids are common in plants. Broussonetia papyrifera is a dioecious plant that is rich in flavonoids. However, few studies have been done on its molecular mechanism, especially sex differences. In the present study, we performed an integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis of the sex differences in the accumulation of flavonoids in B. papyrifera leaves at different developmental stages. In general, flavonoids accumulated gradually with developmental time, and the content in female plants was higher than that in male plants. The composition of flavonoids in female and male plants was similar, and 16 kinds of flavonoids accumulated after flowering. Correspondingly, a significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes and metabolites was observed in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. WGCNA and qRT-PCR analyses identified several key genes regulating the accumulation of flavonoids, such as those encoding CHS, CHI and DFR. In addition, 8 TFs were found to regulate flavonoid biosynthesis by promoting the expression of multiple structural genes. These findings provide insight into flavonoid biosynthesis in B. papyrifera associated molecular regulation.

Keywords: Broussonetia papyrifera; WGCNA; flavonoids; sex differentiation; transcription factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total flavonoid contents in developing Broussonetia papyrifera leaves. Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between female and male plants: no symbol P > 0.05; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. Capital letters indicate statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) among the three development stages of female plants. Lowercase letters indicate statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) among the three development stages of male plants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gender differences in the types and numbers of flavonoid metabolites in Broussonetia papyrifera leaves. (A) Numbers of flavonoids in different samples. (B) Numbers of shared flavonoids in different samples. The black solid circle indicated the presence of compounds in samples, and the gray solid circle indicated the absence of compounds in samples.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cluster analysis of flavonoids in Broussonetia papyrifera leaves. (A) 192 flavonoids found in samples. (B) 27 flavonoids identified in the flavonoids biosynthesis pathway.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Significant pathways of metabolites in developing Broussonetia papyrifera leaves by KEGG functional enrichment. (A) F30 vs. M30. (B) F120 vs. M120. (C) F180 vs. M180.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Differentially expressed genes identified in the flavonoids biosynthesis pathway.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The transcriptional profile of structural genes and metabolites in the flavonoids biosynthesis pathway of Broussonetia papyrifera leaves.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Co-expression network analysis of RNA-seq and physiological trait data. (A) Clustering dendrogram of differentially expressed genes and modules identified by the weighted gene co-expression network analysis. (B) The number of genes in each module.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Eigengenes expression profiles of red and turquoise modules.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Co-expression network related to flavonoids biosynthesis.
Figure 10
Figure 10
qRT-PCR analysis of four structural genes associated with flavonoids biosynthesis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agati G., Azzarello E., Pollastri S., Tattini M. (2012). Flavonoids as antioxidants in plants: location and functional significance. Plant Sci. 196, 67–76. 10.1016/j.plantsci.2012.07.014 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agati G., Biricolti S., Guidi L., Ferrini F., Fini A., Tattini M. (2011). The biosynthesis of flavonoids is enhanced similarly by UV radiation and root zone salinity in L. vulgare leaves. J. Plant Physiol. 168, 204–212. 10.1016/j.jplph.2010.07.016 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agati G., Stefano G., Biricolti S., Tattini M. (2009). Mesophyll distribution of 'antioxidant' flavonoid glycosides in Ligustrum vulgare leaves under contrasting sunlight irradiance. Ann. Bot. 104, 853–861. 10.1093/aob/mcp177 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Dossary O., Alsubaie B., Kharabian-Masouleh A., Al-Mssallem I., Furtado A., Henry R. J. (2021). The jojoba genome reveals wide divergence of the sex chromosomes in a dioecious plant. Plant J. 108, 1283–1294. 10.1111/tpj.15509 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amato A., Cavallini E., Zenoni S., Finezzo L., Begheldo M., Ruperti B., et al. . (2017). A grapevine TTG2-like WRKY transcription factor is involved in regulating vacuolar transport and flavonoid biosynthesis. Front. Plant Sci. 7, 1979. 10.3389/fpls.2016.01979 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources