We employed both metabolomic and transcriptomic approaches to explore the accumulation patterns of physalins, flavonoids and chlorogenic acid in Physalis angulata and revealed the genes associated with the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds under methyl-jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. Physalis angulata L. is an annual Solanaceae plant with a number of medicinally active compounds. Despite the potential pharmacological benefits of P. angulata, the scarce genomic information regarding this plant has limited the studies on the mechanisms of bioactive compound biosynthesis. To facilitate the basic understanding of the main chemical constituent biosynthesis pathways, we performed both metabolomic and transcriptomic approaches to reveal the genes associated with the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds under methyl-jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. Untargeted metabolome analysis showed that most physalins, flavonoids and chlorogenic acid were significantly upregulated. Targeted HPLC-MS/MS analysis confirmed variations in the contents of two important representative steroid derivatives (physalins B and G), total flavonoids, neochlorogenic acid, and chlorogenic acid between MeJA-treated plants and controls. Transcript levels of a few steroid biosynthesis-, flavonoid biosynthesis-, and chlorogenic acid biosynthesis-related genes were upregulated, providing a potential explanation for MeJA-induced active ingredient synthesis in P. angulata. Systematic correlation analysis identified a number of novel candidate genes associated with bioactive compound biosynthesis. These results may help to elucidate the regulatory mechanism underlying MeJA-induced active compound accumulation and provide several valuable candidate genes for further functional study.

中文翻译：

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茉莉酸甲酯在酸浆中诱导的生物活性化合物：化合物积累模式和生物合成相关候选基因的研究。

我们采用代谢组学和转录组学方法来探索酸浆中空泡素、类黄酮和绿原酸的积累模式，并揭示与茉莉酸甲酯 (MeJA) 处理下生物活性化合物的生物合成相关的基因。Physalis angulata L. 是一年生茄科植物，含有多种药用活性化合物。尽管 P. angulata 具有潜在的药理益处，但关于这种植物的稀缺基因组信息限制了对生物活性化合物生物合成机制的研究。为了促进对主要化学成分生物合成途径的基本了解，我们进行了代谢组学和转录组学方法，以揭示与茉莉酸甲酯 (MeJA) 处理下生物活性化合物的生物合成相关的基因。非靶向代谢组分析表明，大多数physalins、黄酮类化合物和绿原酸显着上调。靶向 HPLC-MS/MS 分析证实了 MeJA 处理的植物和对照之间两种重要的代表性类固醇衍生物（physalins B 和 G）、总黄酮、新绿原酸和绿原酸的含量存在差异。一些类固醇生物合成、类黄酮生物合成和绿原酸生物合成相关基因的转录水平被上调，为 MeJA 诱导的 P.angulata 中的活性成分合成提供了潜在的解释。系统相关分析确定了许多与生物活性化合物生物合成相关的新候选基因。