ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Physiol.
Sec. Plant Morphogenesis and Evolution
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Computational Biology: Bridging Omics Studies and Development in PlantsView all articles
Transcriptomic analysis reveals differential gene expression and metabolic reprogramming in Coptis teeta Wall. under drought and heat stress
Provisionally accepted
Manabendra Nath1Dip Kumar Bhattacharyya2
Preetom Regon3Dikshit Goswami1Khirod Kalita1
Kunal Boro1
Bikash Kumar Kundu1
Bhaben Tanti1*- 1Gauhati University, Guwahati, India
- 2Madhab Choudhury College, Barpeta, India
- 3Agricultural Research Organization Volcani Institute, Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel
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ABSTRACT Abiotic stresses such as drought and heat severely impair plant growth, survival, and secondary-metabolite production, posing a major threat to moisture-dependent alpine medicinal plants. Coptis teeta Wall., a critically endangered species of the Eastern Himalayas valued for its isoquinoline alkaloids, is particularly vulnerable to climatic fluctuations. In this study, RNA-Seq based transcriptome profiling was performed to decipher the molecular responses of C. teeta under drought and heat stress. Differential expression analysis identified 3,099 DEGs under drought, 816 under heat, and 3,790 under combined stress highlighting a strong and synergistic transcriptional reshaping under environmental extremes. Antioxidant enzymes including ascorbate peroxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were significantly upregulated, while thioredoxin and glutaredoxin-associated redox regulators were suppressed, indicating a shift toward peroxidase-driven ROS detoxification. Major transcription factors (TFs) from the NAC, DREB, WRKY, bZIP, and HSF families exhibited strong stress-specific induction, with DREB2A, AREB1, and HSFA2 emerging as central regulatory hubs. Secondary-metabolite biosynthesis was distinctly modulated: early benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIA) pathway genes were upregulated, whereas downstream enzymes such as berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) and O-methyltransferases were downregulated, reflecting a stress-induced trade-off between alkaloid diversification and survival. GO and KEGG enrichment further revealed activation of protein folding, oxidoreductase activity, glutathione metabolism, and hormone-signaling pathways. Overall, this study provides the first genome-wide insight into transcriptional networks and metabolic reprogramming in C. teeta under abiotic stress, offering essential molecular resources for conservation, stress-tolerance enhancement, and genetic improvement.
Keywords: Coptis teeta, differential gene expression, Endangered Species, Reactive Oxygen Species, transcriptome analysis
Received: 29 Sep 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Nath, Bhattacharyya, Regon, Goswami, Kalita, Boro, Kundu and Tanti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bhaben Tanti
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