Transcriptome sequencing and analysis reveals the molecular response to selenium stimuli in Pueraria lobata (willd.) Ohwi

Abstract

Pueraria lobata (willd.) Ohwi is a consumable selenium-enriched plant used for medicinal purposes. The molecular response to selenium (Se) stimuli in P. lobata is currently unknown. We used RNA-Seq to identify potential genes involved in selenite metabolism and analyzed their expression profiles. We obtained a total of 150,567 unigenes, of which 90,961 were annotated, including 16 structural genes, 14 sulfate transporters, and 13 phosphate transporters that may be involved in Se metabolism, and 33 candidate structural genes involved in isoflavone biosynthesis. The genes with a —foldchange— >2 and q value <0.05 after sodium selenite treatment were identified as differentially expressed genes (DEGs). We obtained a total of 4,246 DEGs, which were enriched in GO terms that included “response to stimulus”, “response to stress”, “signal transduction”, “response to abiotic stimulus”, and “response to chemical”. Of the 4,246 DEGs, one sulfate transporter and five phosphate transporter genes involved Se metabolism, and nine structural genes involved in isoflavone biosynthesis were up-regulated. The expression patterns of 10 DEGs were selected randomly and validated using qRT-PCR. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) was 0.86, indicating the reliability of RNA-Seq results. 22 Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) scavenging DEGs were found, 11 of which were up-regulated. 436, 624 transcription factors (TFs) correlated with structural genes were identified that may be involved in Se and isoflavone biosynthesis, respectively, using r (r > 0.7 or r < − 0.7). 556 TFs were related to at least one sulfate and phosphate transporter. Our results provided a comprehensive description of gene expression and regulation in response to Se stimuli in P. lobata.

Treatment of Ginkgo biloba with Exogenous Sodium Selenite Affects Its Physiological Growth, Changes Its Phytohormones, and Synthesizes Its Terpene Lactones

“…In G. biloba , the appropriate concentration of Se could promote the expression level of the flavonoid synthesis gene, further promoting the increase of total flavonoid content in G. biloba leaves, which is conducive to the medicinal value of ginkgo extract [ 18 , 32 ]. In a study focusing on the treatment of Pueraria lobata with Se, Se not only induced the expression of sulfate and phosphate transporters that are related to the metabolism of Se, but also the expression of 16 structural genes related to puerarin synthesis and a large number of miRNAs [ 33 , 34 ]. At present, there are few reports on the effects of Se on plant terpenoids.…”

Genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene family involved in puerarin biosynthesis and response to hormone in Puararia lobata var. thomsonii

“…Puerarin are classi ed as iso avones and biosynthesized from L-phenylalanine through a set of reaction that is catalyzed by phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase (CHI), chalcone reductase (CHR) in phenylpropanoid pathway and 2-hydroxyiso avanone (IFS), 2-hydroxyiso avanone dehydratase (HID), UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGT) in iso avonoids pathway (Wang et al, 2017). At the transcription level, iso avone biosynthesis is mainly regulated by structural genes (SGs) and transcription factors (TFs) (Guo et al, 2020;He et al, 2019).…”

Genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene family involved in puerarin biosynthesis and response to hormone in Pueraria lobata var. thomsonii

“…Puerarin are classified as isoflavones and biosynthesized from L-phenylalanine through a set of reaction that is catalyzed by phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase (CHI), chalcone reductase (CHR) in phenylpropanoid pathway and 2-hydroxyisoflavanone (IFS), 2-hydroxyisoflavanone dehydratase (HID), UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGT) in isoflavonoids pathway [ 43 ]. At the transcription level, isoflavone biosynthesis is mainly regulated by structural genes (SGs) and transcription factors (TFs) [ 12 , 15 ].…”