Project description:Most plants of Ligusticum have an important medicinal and economic value with a long history, Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholense (“Gaoben”) has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of carminative, dispelling cold, dehumidification, and analgesia. While in the market Conioselinum vaginatum (Xinjiang Gaoben) is substitution for Gaoben, and occupies a higher market share. These three Gaoben-related medicinal materials are similar in morphology, and are difficult to distinguish from each other by the commonly used DNA barcodes. The chloroplast genome has been widely used for molecular markers, evolutionary biology, and barcoding identification. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome sequences of C. vaginatum, L. sinense, and L. jeholense were reported. The results showed that the complete chloroplast genomes of these three species have typical quadripartite structures, which were comprised of 148,664, 148,539, and 148,497 bp. A total of 114 genes were identified, including 81 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 29 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. Our study indicated that highly variable region ycf2-trnL and accD-ycf4 that can be used as specific DNA barcodes to distinguish and identify C. vaginatum, L. sinense, and L. jeholense. In addition, phylogenetic study showed that C. vaginatum nested in Ligusticum and as a sister group of L. sinense and L. jeholense, which suggested these two genera are both in need of revision. This study offer valuable information for future research in the identification of Gaoben-related medicinal materials and will benefit for further phylogenetic study of Apiaceae.
Project description:The rhizoma of Ligusticum sinense, a Chinese medicinal plant, has long been used as a cosmetic for the whitening and hydrating of the skin in ancient China. In order to investigate the antimelanogenic components of the rhizoma of L. sinense, we performed an antimelanogenesis assay-guided purification using semi-preparative HPLC accompanied with spectroscopic analysis to determine the active components. Based on the bioassay-guided method, 24 compounds were isolated and identified from the ethyl acetate layer of methanolic extracts of L. sinense, and among these, 5-[3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)allyl]ferulic acid (1) and cis-4-pentylcyclohex-3-ene-1,2-diol (2) were new compounds. All the pure isolates were subjected to antimelanogenesis assay using murine melanoma B16-F10 cells. Compound 1 and (3S,3aR)-neocnidilide (8) exhibited antimelanogenesis activities with IC50 values of 78.9 and 31.1 ?M, respectively, without obvious cytotoxicity. Further investigation showed that compound 8 demonstrated significant anti-pigmentation activity on zebrafish embryos (10?20 ?M) compared to arbutin (20 ?M), and without any cytotoxicity against normal human epidermal keratinocytes. These findings suggest that (3S,3aR)-neocnidilide (8) is a potent antimelanogenic and non-cytotoxic natural compound and may be developed potentially as a skin-whitening agent for cosmetic uses.
Project description:Our study provides the first comprehensive insight into the comparative transcriptome between shoot and rhizome in sorghum propinquum. Using the deep RNA sequencing technique, more than 70% of genes were identified to be expressed. Comparative analysis revealed that a strong difference in gene expression patterns between shoot and rhizome organs, especially a set of organ-specific TF genes and cis-elements were determined, implying a unique complicated molecular network controlling shoot or rhizome growth and development. Furthermore, this data set including a deep coverage of the subterranean rhizome transcriptome, provided essential information for future molecular genetic dissection of rhizome formation.
Project description:To identify the genes responsible for rhizome extension, we transcriptome analysis performed in leaves and rhizome of cut and uncut explants (leaves cut and leaves uncut explants)
Project description:Two varieties of turmeric, FMO (Fat Mild Orange) and TYA (Thin Yellow Aromatic) were compared. Rhizomes were harvested 3, 5, and 7 months after planting, roots were harvested at 7 months, and leaves were harvested at 7 months. Plants were grown under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. We used an interwoven loop design for hybridizations. There are two interwoven loops included in this experiment, one for rhizome samples from the different developmental stages, and a second for leaf and root 7 month old samples compared to 7 month old rhizome samples. The two loops were connected at the 7 month old rhizome samples.
Project description:The Oryza longistaminata is a perennial wild rice species with AA genome, which characterized by the presence of rhizomatous stem. The rhizomatousness trait in rice was previously identified quantitatively controlled by many genes, but the molecular mechanism related to the rhizome initiation and elongation is still unknown. In this study, the specific gene expression patterns across five tissues in O. longistaminata, especially in the rhizome were characterized by using the Affymetrix rice microarray platform, the rhizome-specific expressed genes and its corresponding regulatory were further analyzed. The different gene sets were determined exclusively expressed in five tissues; strikingly 58 genes with functions related to transcription regulation and cell proliferation were identified as prevalent sets in rhizome tip, of them, several genes were functionally involved in tiller initiation and elongation. And a set of genes were differentially regulated in the rhizome tip relative to shoot tip, the predominant repressed genes are involved in photosynthesis, while genes related to phytohormone and the gene families with redundancy function were obviously differentially regulated. Several cis-regulatory elements, including CGACG, GCCCORE, GAGAC and a Myb Core, were highly enriched in rhizome tip or internode, and two cis-elements such as RY repeat and TAAAG, which implicated in the ABA signaling pathway, were found overrepresented in the rhizome tip in comparison with shoot tip. A few rhizome-specific expressed genes were co-localized on the rhizome-related QTLs regions, indicating these genes may be good functional candidates for the rhizome related gene cloning. The whole genome profiling of oryza longistaminata indicated that a very complex gene regulatory network underlies rhizome development and growth, and there might be an overlapping regulatory mechanism in the establishment of rhizome and tiller. Phytohormone such as IAA and GA are involved in the signaling pathway in determining rhizome. Several cis-elements enriched in rhizome and the identified rhizome-specific genes co-localized on the rhizome-related QTL intervals provide a base for further dissection of the molecular mechanism of rhizomatousness In this study, the specific gene expression patterns across five tissues including rhizome tip (RT, distal 1 cm of the young rhizome), rhizome internodes (RI), shoot tip (ST, distal 5 mm of the tiller after removing all leaves), shoot internodes (SI) and young leaf (YL) in O. longistaminata, especially in the rhizome were characterized by using the Affymetrix rice microarray platform.