ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1607226
This article is part of the Research TopicIn-Depth Interpretation of Critical Genomic Information Related to the Biosynthesis of Key Specialized (Secondary) Metabolism in Medicinal PlantsView all 11 articles
The Hedyotis diffusa chromosome-level genome and multi-omics analysis provide new insights into the iridoids biosynthetic pathway
Provisionally accepted
Pengyu Chen
Zhuang Huang
Mingzhu YinYu-Xin WenQi JiangPing HuangRui QianXing Hong
Kaojiang ZhuBenjiang XiaoMeng ChenShihao LiFang Huang*LinTao Han*- Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
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Hedyotis diffusa, a medicinal herb of the Rubiaceae family, possesses considerable therapeutic potential. Iridoids represent a key group of bioactive compounds. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their biosynthesis remain poorly understood. In this study, we present a telomere-to-telomere (T2T) chromosomal-scale genome assembly of Hedyotis diffusa, approximately 482.30 Mb and anchored to 16 chromosomes. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses indicate that Hedyotis diffusa recently underwent a unique whole-genome duplication (WGD) event. Furthermore, we investigated the expression patterns of 30 methylerythritol 4-phosphate/Mevalonate phosphate (MEP/MVA) pathway genes and 93 iridoid biosynthesis genes in Hedyotis diffusa. The MEP/MVA pathway genes exhibited predominant expression in roots, whereas iridoid biosynthesis genes displayed tissue-specific expression patterns. Additionally, LAMT, OAT, and CYP71 were identified as potential contributors to post-modification processes in iridoids biosynthesis. Through gene tree clustering analysis, we predicted one LAMT gene (Hd_18862) and two CYP71D55 genes (Hd_18118 and Hd_18119). This study advances the genomic understanding of Hedyotis diffusa and establishes a foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying iridoids biosynthesis.
Keywords: Hedyotis diffusa, Genome, Metabolome, Transcriptome, iridoid biosynthetic pathways
Received: 07 Apr 2025; Accepted: 19 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Huang, Yin, Wen, Jiang, Huang, Qian, Hong, Zhu, Xiao, Chen, Li, Huang and Han. 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:
Fang Huang, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
LinTao Han, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
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