Transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals the mechanism of key nutrient formation in Hainan oil-camellia (Camellia hainanica) growth cycle

作者：Yuanhao Ding, Qingxia Wu, Zhiyang Li, Qiuping Zhong, Shihan Zhou, Fei Chen, Mengyu Zhang, Yalan Li, Ping Li, Cheng‐Zhi Xie, Jinping Liu, Dongyi Huang, Wenquan Wang, Hanggui Lai, Haiyan Hu · 发表于：Industrial Crops and Products · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.121122 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Plant Gene Expression Analysis、Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis、Biofuel production and bioconversion

Hainan oil-camellia ( Camellia hainanica , HOC), a newly discovered tropical decaploid oil-camellia species in Hainan, China, produces a superior quality camellia oil locally named as ‘Shanyou oil’. ‘Shanyou oil’ has a higher nutritional value and contains richer bioactive components than the widely cultivated hexaploid oil-camellia species ( Camellia oleifera ). To systematically investigate the gene expression and metabolite accumulation profiles of HOC throughout its growth cycle, we collected 13 samples for transcriptome sequencing and UPLC-MS/MS metabolomic analysis. A total of 33,462 expressed genes and 577 metabolites were identified. All expressed genes were classified into 10 gene clusters via K-means analysis. Lipids, amino acids, and flavonoids were found abundant in seeds, leaves and floral organs of HOC. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses indicated that genes in cluster 2, 4, and 6 were significantly enriched in flavonoids, lipids, and amino acids metabolic pathways. Further analysis revealed that the up-regulation of KAS II and SAD , alongside the down-regulation of FAD2 and FAD3 , resulting in the high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1) in ‘Shanyou oil’. Additionally, two strongly associated transcriptional factors (TFs) modules were predicted participating in the regulation of lipid biosynthesis in HOC. Metabolomic analysis also showed catechins and epicatechins were abundant in many tissues, corresponding with the high expression of related bi...