{
  "abstract": "Yushuyuangen (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa) is a characteristic turnip landrace cultivated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and valued for its nutritional and flavor qualities. However, the tissue-specific distribution of quality-related metabolites and the gene-expression patterns associated with their accumulation remain poorly understood. Here, metabolomics and transcriptomics were integrated with weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to investigate three root tissues in two varieties, YPW (purple-white) and YGW (green-white): the upper colored peel (purple in YPW and green in YGW), lower white peel, and root flesh. A total of 775 metabolites were identified, showing clear tissue-dependent metabolic differentiation. Sugar-phosphate intermediates and aromatic/aspartate-family amino acids accumulated mainly in root flesh (glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate, phenylalanine, and homoserine), whereas branched-chain amino acids were abundant in colored peel (valine and leucine). Purple peel accumulated higher levels of p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, while flavonoids differed markedly between purple and green peel, represented by phloretin and diosmetin in purple peel and trifolin and kaempferol-7-O-glucoside in green peel. Integrated WGCNA and correlation analyses further identified tissue-associated relationships among metabolites, structural genes, and transcription factors. Four candidate transcription factor-structural gene-metabolite associations were highlighted: NAC22-F16P2.1-D-fructose-6-phosphate, bHLH65/ARFD4-TRBP2.2-L-tryptophan, MYB62/AGL63-PAL1.2/C4H.2-p-coumaric acid, and MYB62-FLS1/F3'H1.2-trifolin/kaempferol-7-O-glucoside. These associations were inferred from co-expression and correlation patterns and represent candidate relationships for further functional validation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Laboratory of Research and Utilization of Germplasm Resources in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences of Qinghai Province, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai, China.",
    "Key Laboratory of Germplasm Resources Protection and Genetic Improvement of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Ministry of Agriculture and Rural, Xining, Qinghai, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Caixia Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ruxue Qian"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Quanhui Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yanjing Ren"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ezfseag775sem.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fnut.2026.1980490",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13710288",
  "id": "ezfseag775sem",
  "issns": [
    "2296-861X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948060",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Plant Gene Expression Analysis"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221723437",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13710288?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13710288",
  "pmid": "42948060",
  "published": "2026-10-13",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ezfseag775sem.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:34Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42948060",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948060"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:17Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13710288",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1980490"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Plant Gene Expression Analysis",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal tissue-specific distribution and gene-metabolite associations of quality-related metabolites in the Tibetan Plateau turnip landrace \"Yushuyuangen\" (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa).",
  "title_text": "Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal tissue-specific distribution and gene-metabolite associations of quality-related metabolites in the Tibetan Plateau turnip landrace \"Yushuyuangen\" (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa).",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:21:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ezfseag775sem",
  "venue": "Frontiers in nutrition",
  "versions": []
}