Deletion and tandem duplications of biosynthetic genes drive the diversity of triterpenoids in Aralia elata

Yu Wang, He Zhang, Hyok Chol Ri, Zeyu An, Xin Wang, Jia-Nan Zhou, Dongran Zheng, Hao Wu, Pengchao Wang, Jianfei Yang, Ding-Kun Liu, Diyang Zhang, Wen-Chieh Tsai, Zheyong Xue, Zhichao Xu, Peng Zhang (), Zhong-Jian Liu (), Hailong Shen () and Yuhua Li ()
Additional contact information
Yu Wang: Northeast Forestry University
He Zhang: Northeast Forestry University
Hyok Chol Ri: Northeast Forestry University
Zeyu An: Northeast Forestry University
Xin Wang: Northeast Forestry University
Jia-Nan Zhou: Northeast Forestry University
Dongran Zheng: Northeast Forestry University
Hao Wu: Northeast Forestry University
Pengchao Wang: Northeast Forestry University
Jianfei Yang: Northeast Forestry University
Ding-Kun Liu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Diyang Zhang: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Wen-Chieh Tsai: National Cheng Kung University
Zheyong Xue: Northeast Forestry University
Zhichao Xu: Northeast Forestry University
Peng Zhang: Northeast Forestry University
Zhong-Jian Liu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Hailong Shen: Northeast Forestry University
Yuhua Li: Northeast Forestry University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Araliaceae species produce various classes of triterpene and triterpenoid saponins, such as the oleanane-type triterpenoids in Aralia species and dammarane-type saponins in Panax, valued for their medicinal properties. The lack of genome sequences of Panax relatives has hindered mechanistic insight into the divergence of triterpene saponins in Araliaceae. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome of Aralia elata with a total length of 1.05 Gb. The loss of 12 exons in the dammarenediol synthase (DDS)-encoding gene in A. elata after divergence from Panax might have caused the lack of dammarane-type saponin production, and a complementation assay shows that overexpression of the PgDDS gene from Panax ginseng in callus of A. elata recovers the accumulation of dammarane-type saponins. Tandem duplication events of triterpene biosynthetic genes are common in the A. elata genome, especially for AeCYP72As, AeCSLMs, and AeUGT73s, which function as tailoring enzymes of oleanane-type saponins and aralosides. More than 13 aralosides are de novo synthesized in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by overexpression of these genes in combination. This study sheds light on the diversity of saponins biosynthetic pathway in Araliaceae and will facilitate heterologous bioproduction of aralosides.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29908-y

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