The high-quality genome of Grona styracifolia uncovers the genomic mechanism of high levels of schaftoside, a promising drug candidate for treatment of COVID-19

Abstract

Recent study has evidenced that traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) plant-derived schaftoside shows promise as a potential drug candidate for COVID-19 treatment. However, the biosynthetic pathway of schaftoside in TCM plants remains unknown. In this study, the genome of the TCM herb Grona styracifolia (Osbeck) H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi (GSO), which is rich in schaftoside, was sequenced, and a high-quality assembly of GSO genome was obtained. Our findings revealed that GSO did not undergo recent whole genome duplication (WGD) but shared an ancestral papilionoid polyploidy event, leading to the gene expansion of chalcone synthase (CHS) and isoflavone 2′-hydroxylase (HIDH). Furthermore, GSO-specific tandem gene duplication resulted in the gene expansion of C-glucosyltransferase (CGT). Integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome identified 13 CGTs and eight HIDHs involved in the biosynthetic pathway of schaftoside. Functional studies indicated that CGTs and HIDHs identified here are bona fide responsible for the biosynthesis of schaftoside in GSO, as confirmed through hairy root transgenic system and in vitro enzyme activity assay. Taken together, the ancestral papilionoid polyploidy event expanding CHSs and HIDHs, along with the GSO-specific tandem duplication of CGT, contributes, partially if not completely, to the robust biosynthesis of schaftoside in GSO. These findings provide insights into the genomic mechanisms underlying the abundant biosynthesis of schaftoside in GSO, highlighting the potential of GSO as a source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical development.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported partially by grants from Key Area R&D Project of Guangdong Province (2020B020221001), Key Technologies R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2022B1111230001), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany (AB2018017), Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2015286), and Guangdong Provincial Special Fund for Modern Agriculture Industry Technology Innovation Teams, China (2024KJ148).

Author contributions

S.Z. and Y.W. conceived and supervised the project. S.Z., Z.W., D.S., and G.B. analysed the data. Z.W., D.S., F.Y., and T.L. performed the experiments. T.P., J.Y., and S.Z. discussed and revised the manuscript. S.Z. and Z.W. drafted the manuscript. All the authors reviewed the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Data availability

The genome raw sequencing (including PacBio, 10X-Genomics, Hi-C, Illumina) are accessible in the Genome Sequence Archive (GSA) database (https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/gsa/) with the accession number CRA013313. Moreover, the assembled genome was deposited in the Figshare (https://figshare.com/).

Supplementary data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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