<i>Ginkgo biloba</i> L. Responds to Red and Blue Light: Via Phenylpropanoid and Flavonoid Biosynthesis Pathway

Abstract

Light quality is a key environmental factor affecting plant growth and development. In this study, RNA-seq technology was used to explore the molecular mechanisms of ginkgo metabolism under different monochromatic lights. Leaves were used for transcriptome sequencing analysis after being irradiated by red, blue, and white LED lights. After treatment, 2040 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that the DEGs were annotated into 49 terms. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that 736 DEGs were enriched in 100 metabolic pathways, and 13 metabolic pathways were significantly enriched, especially ‘phenylpropanoid biosynthesis’ and ‘flavonoid biosynthesis’. Further analysis of DEGs expression in the two pathways showed that Ginkgo biloba adapts to blue light mainly by promoting the expression of GbFLS to synthesize quercetin, kaempferol, and myncetin, and adapts to red light by promoting the expression of GbDFR to synthesize leucocyanidin. Nine DEGs were randomly selected for qRT-PCR verification, and the gene expression results were consistent with that of transcriptome sequencing. In conclusion, this study is the first to explore the molecular mechanism of ginkgo in response to different monochromatic lights, and it will lay a foundation for the research and application of light quality in the cultivation of leaf-use G. biloba.

Keywords

• <i>Ginkgo biloba</i>
• red and blue light
• transcriptome
• functional annotation
• phenylpropanoid
• flavonoid