Aloe vera L. is an excellent resource for medication. Selenium-enriched aloe can act as a functional food to human health. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying selenium accumulation in Aloe vera L., we characterized the metabolic and transcriptome responses of aloe leaves under different Na₂SeO₄ levels (0, 200, and 400 mg/L) treatments. Aloe leaves spraying with exogenous selenium fertilizer showed a significant increase in total Se content compared with those under non-treatment control, and no distinct differences were observed between 200 and 400 mg/L Se treatment. Non-targeted metabolic profiling revealed that Se treatment triggered the accumulation of antioxidants, including amino acid and derivatives, phenols, flavonoids, terpene, as well as indole derivatives. Consistent with metabolic changes following Se treatment, the transcript level of genes involved in Se assimilation and Se-response showed dramatically increase, such as those encoding sulfate transporter, antioxidants, phytohormone signaling, transcription factors, and phenols metabolites, suggesting Se assimilation generally accompanied with antioxidant and pathogen defense. This study exhibited comprehensive insights on Se response in Aloe vera L., and provided us with targeted genes for genetic engineering, thereby improving the therapeutic value of aloe.

芦荟是一种极好的药物资源。富含硒的芦荟可以作为人类健康的功能食品。为了了解芦荟中硒积累的潜在分子机制，我们表征了不同Na ₂ SeO ₄下芦荟叶片的代谢和转录组反应水平（0、200和400 mg / L）处理。与未处理的对照相比，喷施外源硒肥的芦荟叶的总硒含量显着增加，在200和400 mg / L硒处理之间未观察到明显差异。非目标代谢谱分析表明，硒处理引发了抗氧化剂的积累，包括氨基酸及其衍生物，酚，类黄酮，萜烯以及吲哚衍生物。与硒处理后的代谢变化一致，硒同化和硒响应基因的转录水平显着增加，例如编码硫酸盐转运蛋白，抗氧化剂，植物激素信号传导，转录因子和酚代谢物的基因，提示硒的同化通常伴随着抗氧化剂和病原体的防御。这项研究展示了对硒反应的全面见解。芦荟，并为我们提供了针对基因工程的靶向基因，从而提高了芦荟的治疗价值。