Integrative Analysis of Metabolomic And Transcriptomic Data Reveals The Mechanism of Color Formation in Corms of Pinellia ternata

The objective of this study was to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the difference in epidermal color between the two forms of P. ternata. We found that a high content of anthocyanidin is responsible for the red epidermal color in P. ternata, and 15 metabolites, including Cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside-5-O-glucoside, Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, and Cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside were screened as potential color markers in P. ternata through metabolomic analysis. Based on an analysis of the transcriptome, seven genes, including PtCHS1, PtCHS2, PtCHI1, PtDFR5, PtANS, PtUPD-GT2, and PtUPD-GT3, were found to have important effects on the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in the P. ternata corm epidermis. Using an integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome data, we identified five genes, including two structural genes (PtCHI1 and PtDFR2) and three glycosyltransferase genes (PtUPD-GT1, PtUPD-GT2, and, PtUPD-GT3) that may make important contributions to the red epidermis color in P. ternata corms.The experiments were carried out in the Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource Center, Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, from September to October 2021.