Growth-Dependent Biosynthesis of Metabolites in Atractylodes lancea Revealed by Integrated LC-MS and Transcriptomic Analysis

This study employs an integrated multi-omics approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying growth-dependent secondary metabolite biosynthesis in the rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC., a valuable medicinal plant. The research aims to elucidate how the biosynthesis and accumulation of key bioactive compounds, such as atractylodin, atractylenolides, and sesquiterpenoids, are regulated across different developmental stages.We collected rhizome samples from Atractylodes lancea plants at four distinct annual growth stages (1-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 4-year old), with three biological replicates per stage, resulting in a total of 12 samples. For each sample, we performed comprehensive transcriptomic sequencing (RNA-Seq) to profile global gene expression dynamics and coupled this with Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) based metabolomic profiling to quantify metabolite abundances.By correlating transcriptional changes with metabolite accumulation patterns across the four growth years, this project seeks to identify key genes, metabolic pathways, and regulatory networks involved in the temporal regulation of specialized metabolism. The generated data will provide a valuable resource for understanding the developmental biology of Atractylodes lancea and may facilitate future efforts in metabolic engineering or cultivation optimization to enhance the production of its pharmacologically important compounds.