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: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: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 μM, respectively, without obvious cytotoxicity. Further investigation showed that compound 8 demonstrated significant anti-pigmentation activity on zebrafish embryos (10‒20 μM) compared to arbutin (20 μM), 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: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.