Simple Summary Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. is a classic traditional Chinese medicinal plant with significant pharmacological activities, and its dried fruits are the officially recognized medicinal part. While most existing research focuses on the fruit, the metabolic and transcriptional characteristics of non-medicinal tissues (roots, stems, leaves, and flowers) remain underexplored, which hinders the full utilization of E. rutaecarpa plant resources. To address this gap, we conducted an integrated analysis combining widely targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics to profile the metabolic and transcriptional landscapes across four tissues of E. rutaecarpa. Our results revealed pronounced tissue-specific secondary metabolic differentiation: roots specifically accumulated quinolone alkaloids and flavonoid glycosides, whereas leaves, stems, and flowers preferentially accumulated bioactive indole alkaloids (evodiamine and rutaecarpine). Notably, leaves and flowers exhibited particularly high accumulation levels of these active alkaloids, indicating their potential as alternative sources for industrial and pharmaceutical production. We further identified key candidate structural genes and regulatory gene modules associated with indole alkaloid biosynthesis. Collectively, our findings provide a systematic foundation for the comprehensive utilization of E. rutaecarpa resources and lay a solid groundwork for future metabolic engineering of bioactive indole alkaloids.
Wei-Wei Zhao, Ji-Hua Guo, Tai-Hang Wang et al.· Biology· 0 citations
Background: Imidacloprid, a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, is routinely applied to control pests in Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus, a crucial medicinal herb producing Astragali Radix. However, the early short-term transcriptional and metabolic responses of its seedlings under imidacloprid gradient stress remain poorly characterized. Methods: In this study, 80-day seedlings were subjected to three foliar spray treatments: blank control (CK), the recommended imidacloprid concentration (2000-fold dilution, 475 mg·L−1), and an excessively high concentration (500-fold dilution, 1900 mg·L−1). Leaf samples were harvested 24 h post-treatment for untargeted ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) metabolomics (6 biological replicates) and RNA-seq transcriptome sequencing (3 biological replicates). Results: The low- and high-dose treatments induced 1076 and 860 differential metabolites and 6818 and 7283 differentially expressed genes, respectively. Flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, amino acid metabolites, and energy-related pathways were prominently affected. KEGG enrichment indicated activation of flavone/flavonol biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, MAPK signaling, cutin/suberin/wax biosynthesis, and ABC transporter pathways, whereas high-dose exposure was associated with stronger changes in genes related to DNA replication and cell wall remodeling. Integrated network analysis highlighted CHS, PAL, MYC2, KCS, and ABCG40 as candidate regulators linking stress signaling, secondary metabolism, and metabolite transport. Conclusions: Seedlings of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus exhibit dose-dependent acute responses to imidacloprid. Moderate pesticide exposure primarily activates defensive secondary metabolism, whereas excessive dosage triggers genome-wide transcriptional reprogramming. This work identifies key metabolic pathways and hub genes, offering candidate molecular markers for investigating pesticide stress adaptation in medicinal Astragalus and guiding standardized pesticide application in cultivation.
Dabao Yin, Xue Li, Li Zhou et al.· Genes· 0 citations
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