Integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics revealed the mechanism of catechin biosynthesis in response to lead stress in tung tree (Vernicia fordii)

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2024-06, Vol.930, p.172796-172796, Article 172796
• Main Authors: Dong, Xiang, Li, Wenying, Li, Changzhu, Akan, Otobong Donald, Liao, Chancan, Cao, Jie, Zhang, Lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Catechins; Hairy roots; Metabolites; RNA-seq
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172796

Lead (Pb) affects gene transcription, metabolite biosynthesis and growth in plants. The tung tree (Vernicia fordii) is highly adaptive to adversity, whereas the mechanisms underlying its response to Pb remain uncertain. In this work, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were employed to study tung trees under Pb stress. The results showed that the biomass of tung seedlings decreased with increasing Pb doses, and excessive Pb doses resulted in leaf wilting, root rot, and disruption of Pb homeostasis. Under non-excessive Pb stress, a significant change in the expression patterns of flavonoid biosynthesis genes was observed in the roots of tung seedlings, leading to changes in the accumulation of flavonoids in the roots, especially the upregulation of catechins, which can chelate Pb and reduce its toxicity in plants. In addition, Pb-stressed roots showed a large accumulation of VfWRKY55, VfWRKY75, and VfLRR1 transcripts, which were shown to be involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway by gene module analysis. Overexpression of VfWRKY55, VfWRKY75, and VfLRR1 significantly increased catechin concentrations in tung roots, respectively. These data indicate that Pb stress-induced changes in the expression patterns of those genes regulate the accumulation of catechins. Our findings will help to clarify the molecular mechanism of Pb response in plants. [Display omitted] •Multi-omics characteristics of Pb response in tung trees are systematically analyzed.•Catechins are identified as key metabolites in response to Pb stress in tung trees.•VfWRKY55, VfWRKY75 and VfLRR1 increase concentrations of catechins in tung roots.•A new model of the mechanisms of Pb response in tung trees is proposed.