Comprehensive transcriptome analysis and flavonoid profiling of Ginkgo leaves reveals flavonoid content alterations in day-night cycles

Ginkgo leaves are raw materials for flavonoid extraction. Thus, the timing of their harvest is important to optimize the extraction efficiency, which benefits the pharmaceutical industry. In this research, we compared the transcriptomes of Ginkgo leaves harvested at midday and midnight. The differen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-03, Vol.13 (3), p.e0193897-e0193897
Main Authors: Ni, Jun, Dong, Lixiang, Jiang, Zhifang, Yang, Xiuli, Chen, Ziying, Wu, Yuhuan, Xu, Maojun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Biosynthesis
Flavonoids
Ginkgo
Research and Analysis Methods
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Summary:Ginkgo leaves are raw materials for flavonoid extraction. Thus, the timing of their harvest is important to optimize the extraction efficiency, which benefits the pharmaceutical industry. In this research, we compared the transcriptomes of Ginkgo leaves harvested at midday and midnight. The differentially expressed genes with the highest probabilities in each step of flavonoid biosynthesis were down-regulated at midnight. Furthermore, real-time PCR corroborated the transcriptome results, indicating the decrease in flavonoid biosynthesis at midnight. The flavonoid profiles of Ginkgo leaves harvested at midday and midnight were compared, and the total flavonoid content decreased at midnight. A detailed analysis of individual flavonoids showed that most of their contents were decreased by various degrees. Our results indicated that circadian rhythms affected the flavonoid contents in Ginkgo leaves, which provides valuable information for optimizing their harvesting times to benefit the pharmaceutical industry.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0193897