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Comprehensive transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals regulatory network for lignin biosynthesis in chicory sprouting

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Abstract

Chicory is consumed worldwide and is an important commercial crop. However, excess lignin deposition may reduce its quality. The comprehension of the molecular mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of lignin in chicory is currently inadequate. To address this, an integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome profiles was performed in chicory sprout at three different stages. A total of 706 metabolites were identified, with cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, coniferaldehyde, and sinapaldehyde enriched during the growth of chicory sprouts. This suggested that these four metabolites may affect the growth of chicory sprouts. Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that the expression of most of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in lignin biosynthesis was up-regulated during chicory growth. Importantly, the metabolite and gene expression profiles were closely correlated during sprout development, especially in association with lignin biosynthesis. The results will serve as a reference for lignin biosynthesis in chicory and may also assist biologists in improving chicory quality.

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Data availability

The raw data have been submitted to NCBI under accession number PRJNA865888 (https://dataview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/object/PRJNA865888).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Qinghai Innovation Platform Construction Program (2020-ZJ-Y02).

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Author notes

  1. Juan Li and Xiaozhu Guo have contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Research and Utilization of Germplasm Resources in Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences of Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, Qinghai, China

    Juan Li, Xiaozhu Guo, Gui Wang, Zhenjie Zhou & Xuemei Sun

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  1. Juan Li
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  2. Xiaozhu Guo
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  3. Gui Wang
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  4. Zhenjie Zhou
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Contributions

JL and XS designed the study; XG and ZZ collect samples needed for transcriptome sequencing profiling; JL and GW performed and accomplished the classification of the different expression genes; JL analyzed data and wrote the manuscript and XG revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xuemei Sun.

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Li, J., Guo, X., Wang, G. et al. Comprehensive transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals regulatory network for lignin biosynthesis in chicory sprouting. Plant Biotechnol Rep 17, 725–739 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-023-00862-5

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