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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
Biosynthesis of a Flavonol from a Flavanone by Establishing a One-pot Bienzymatic Cascade
Published on: August 14, 2019
Study on differences in flavonoid synthesis in Xanthoceras sorbifolia leaves based on transcriptome analysis
Baotong Zheng1, Xiaojiao Zhou1, Xing Tao1
1Nanjing Forestry University, College of Soil and Water Conservation, College of Forestry and Grassland, Collaborative Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing, China.
Introduction:
Xanthoceras sorbifolia, an oil-rich woody plant, shows significant potential for biodiesel production from its seeds. Its leaves contain flavonoids with medicinal value, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms of flavonoid biosynthesis remain elusive.
Methods:
In this study, we collected mature leaves from the upper and middle parts of three Xanthoceras sorbifolia clone plants exhibiting significantly different levels of flavonoids and performed transcriptome analysis.
Results:
The quantitative analysis revealed that the flavonoid content of these clones is 60.59 mg/g, 49.62 mg/g, and 41.12 mg/g, respectively. By combining phenotypic and physiological characteristics analysis, we investigated the molecular mechanisms governing differential flavonoid accumulation in the leaves. Results indicated that high-flavonoid lines exhibited enhanced antioxidant capacity, increased metabolic investment during synthesis, improved flavonoid transport efficiency, and stronger stress tolerance. The expression levels of some genes belonging to FLS family showed positive correlations with flavonoid content, while different members of the 4CL gene family showed varying correlation patterns. Furthermore, the expression levels of C12RT1 (EVM0013999), FLS (EVM0004800),4CL (EVM0019469/11395), and FG3 (EVM0020415/13578) were positively correlated with flavonoid content, whereas the expression levels of FG2 (EVM0002360) and LAR (EVM0004274) were negatively correlated with flavonoid content.
Discussion:
Our study proposed three distinct flavonoid synthesis strategies. Plants rich in flavonoids may enhance their synthesis capacity by upregulating the expression of key genes such as 4CL and FLS, while downregulating gene expression in competitive pathways.
