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Advances in studies on transcription factors in regulation of secondary metabolites in Chinese medicinal plants

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Abstract

The active ingredients of many Chinese medicinal plants are secondary metabolites, which exhibit pharmaceutical value. In the metabolism process of secondary metabolites, transcription factors play important roles in regulating a series of genes in the metabolic pathway, thereby regulating the direction and the speed of metabolic flow. Therefore, the intervention of transcription factor by genetic engineering is an important method to regulate secondary metabolism in Chinese medicinal plants. This article summarizes the functions and regulatory mechanism of transcription factors had been studied in secondary metabolites of Chinese medicinal plants, which will help researchers in-depth understand the metabolism network of secondary metabolites, further improve the quality of Chinese medicinal plants.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

abscisic acid

AP2/ERF:

APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding factors

ARF:

auxin response factor

bHLH:

basic-helix-loop-helix

bZIP:

basicregion leucine-zipper proteins

DS:

dammarenediol II synthase

ICE1:

Inducer of CBF Expression 1

JA:

jasmonic acid

MeJA:

methyl jasmonate

MYB:

V-myb myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog

RACE:

rapid-amplification of cDNA ends

RT-qPCR:

real-time quantitative PCR

SA:

salicylic acid

SE:

squalene epoxidase gene

TCM:

traditional Chinese medicines

TFs:

transcription factors

TIAs:

terpenoid indole alkaloids

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Research Project Supported by Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (2020 − 132), and the Award Fund for Excellent doctoral Graduates Working in Shanxi Province (2020BKS03).

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Project Supported by Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (2020 − 132), and the Award Fund for Excellent doctoral Graduates Working in Shanxi Province (2020BKS03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, 030619, Jinzhong, Shanxi, PR China

    Liyang Yang, Liyun Miao & Qiang Gong

  2. School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, 56 Xinjiannan Road, 030001, Taiyuan, Shanxi, PR China

    Jianquan Guo

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  1. Liyang Yang
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  2. Liyun Miao
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  3. Qiang Gong
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  4. Jianquan Guo
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the topic selection and data collection. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Liyang Yang and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approve the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jianquan Guo.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Communicated by K X Tang.

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Yang, L., Miao, L., Gong, Q. et al. Advances in studies on transcription factors in regulation of secondary metabolites in Chinese medicinal plants. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 151, 1–9 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-022-02334-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-022-02334-0

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