Integrated Physiological and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Secondary Metabolic Responses of Prunella vulgaris Seedlings to Sodium Nitroprusside Treatment
4 affiliations
- 1College of Pharmacy, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu 610500, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Structure-Specific Small Molecule Drugs at Chengdu Medical College of Sichuan Province, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu 610500, China
- 3State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
- 4Institute of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Abstract
Prunella vulgaris L. is a valuable edible and medicinal industrial crop widely cultivated and used in Asia and Europe. Although exogenous sodium nitroprusside (SNP, a NO donor) is known to increase the biosynthesis of bioactive polyphenols and triterpenoids in this plant, its precise regulatory network remains unclear. Here, we integrated physiological and transcriptomic analyses to decipher how exogenous sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 100 μM) reprograms secondary metabolism in P. vulgaris seedling leaves at 2, 24, and 48 h post treatment. The results indicated that SNP treatment significantly altered antioxidant and redox responses, elevated osmotic regulators, and increased accumulation of key bioactive compounds (such as rosmarinic acid and ursolic acid), accompanied by increased in vitro antioxidant activity. At 24 h post treatment, our comparative analysis revealed 4341 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs). Exogenous SNP treatment is associated with phytohormone signal transduction, Ca2+ signaling, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. SNP treatment markedly increased endogenous jasmonic acid (JA) levels and upregulated the expression of core transcription factors (MYBs, bHLHs, WRKYs, and NACs), along with increased expression of JA biosynthesis transcripts (e.g., PvLOXs, PvAOC, and PvACX), as well as key transcripts involved in polyphenol biosynthesis (e.g., PvPAL, PvTAT, and PvRAS) and triterpenoid biosynthesis (e.g., PvHMGS, PvDXS, and PvSQS). Our findings provide a systematic view of the physiological, hormonal, and transcriptional responses through which SNP is associated with changes in secondary metabolism in P. vulgaris and provide a theoretical basis for future studies on foliar SNP application to improve the pharmaceutical quality.
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BibTeX
@article{gong2026integrated,
title = {{Integrated Physiological and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Secondary Metabolic Responses of Prunella vulgaris Seedlings to Sodium Nitroprusside Treatment}},
author = {Zhiguo Gong and Muyun Zhu and Qian Zuo and Xi Zou and Xiangling Hu and Yufan Li and Wuzhimo Ergu and Rong Deng and Tao Chen and Bingcong Xing and Zaibiao Zhu and Liping Cao and Yuhang Chen},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219585},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9585},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Integrated Physiological and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Secondary Metabolic Responses of Prunella vulgaris Seedlings to Sodium Nitroprusside Treatment
AU - Zhiguo Gong
AU - Muyun Zhu
AU - Qian Zuo
AU - Xi Zou
AU - Xiangling Hu
AU - Yufan Li
AU - Wuzhimo Ergu
AU - Rong Deng
AU - Tao Chen
AU - Bingcong Xing
AU - Zaibiao Zhu
AU - Liping Cao
AU - Yuhang Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219585
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9585
AB - Prunella vulgaris L. is a valuable edible and medicinal industrial crop widely cultivated and used in Asia and Europe. Although exogenous sodium nitroprusside (SNP, a NO donor) is known to increase the biosynthesis of bioactive polyphenols and triterpenoids in this plant, its precise regulatory network remains unclear. Here, we integrated physiological and transcriptomic analyses to decipher how exogenous sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 100 μM) reprograms secondary metabolism in P. vulgaris seedling leaves at 2, 24, and 48 h post treatment. The results indicated that SNP treatment significantly altered antioxidant and redox responses, elevated osmotic regulators, and increased accumulation of key bioactive compounds (such as rosmarinic acid and ursolic acid), accompanied by increased in vitro antioxidant activity. At 24 h post treatment, our comparative analysis revealed 4341 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs). Exogenous SNP treatment is associated with phytohormone signal transduction, Ca2+ signaling, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. SNP treatment markedly increased endogenous jasmonic acid (JA) levels and upregulated the expression of core transcription factors (MYBs, bHLHs, WRKYs, and NACs), along with increased expression of JA biosynthesis transcripts (e.g., PvLOXs, PvAOC, and PvACX), as well as key transcripts involved in polyphenol biosynthesis (e.g., PvPAL, PvTAT, and PvRAS) and triterpenoid biosynthesis (e.g., PvHMGS, PvDXS, and PvSQS). Our findings provide a systematic view of the physiological, hormonal, and transcriptional responses through which SNP is associated with changes in secondary metabolism in P. vulgaris and provide a theoretical basis for future studies on foliar SNP application to improve the pharmaceutical quality.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -