title: Ag+ as a more effective elicitor for production of tanshinones than phenolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots.
abstract: Phenolic acids and tanshinones are two groups of bioactive ingredients in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. As a heavy metal elicitor, it has been reported that Ag+ can induce accumulations of both phenolic acids and tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots. In this study, the effects of Ag+ treatment on accumulations of six phenolic acids and four tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots were investigated. To further elucidate the molecular mechanism, expressions of key genes involved in the biosynthesis of these ingredients were also detected. The results showed that although the total phenolic acids content was almost not affected by Ag+, accumulations of rosmarinic acid (RA), caffeic acid and ferulic acid were significantly increased, while accumulations of salvianolic acid B (LAB), danshensu (DSU) and cinnamic acid were decreased. We speculate that LAB probably derived from the branch pathway of DSU biosynthesis. Contents of four tanshinones were enhanced by Ag+ and their accumulations were more sensitive to Ag+ than phenolic acids. Genes in the upstream biosynthetic pathways of these ingredients responded to Ag+ earlier than those in the downstream biosynthetic pathways. Ag+ probably induced the whole pathways, upregulated gene expressions from the upstream pathways to the downstream pathways, and finally resulted in the enhancement of ingredient production. Compared with phenolic acids, tanshinone production was more sensitive to Ag+ treatments. This study will help us understand how secondary metabolism in S. miltiorrhiza responds to elicitors and provide a reference for the improvement of the production of targeted compounds in the near future.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 928 Second Avenue, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang, China. xingbingcong@163.com.
authors.forename: Bingcong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 928 Second Avenue, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang, China. yangdongfeng@zstu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dongfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 928 Second Avenue, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang, China. gwl1016@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Wanli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 928 Second Avenue, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang, China. liangzs@ms.iswc.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Zongsuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Tasly R&D Institute, Tasly Holding Group Co. Ltd, Tianjin 300410, China. yxj@tasly.com.
authors.forename: Xijun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Tasly R&D Institute, Tasly Holding Group Co. Ltd, Tianjin 300410, China. zyh@tasly.com.
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Tasly R&D Institute, Tasly Holding Group Co. Ltd, Tianjin 300410, China. lyzc596392@163.com.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D045784:Abietanes / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D017343:Genes, Plant; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012834:Silver / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D045784:Abietanes; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates; C021751:tanshinone; D012834:Silver; C017616:phenolic acid