日前,，由吉林省重大科技攻關項目資助，以中國醫(yī)學科學院藥用植物研究所為主體的研究團隊在國際著名植物學期刊《植物細胞報告》（Plant Cell Reports）上發(fā)表了題為“454 EST analysis detects genes putatively involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis in Panax ginseng”的研究論文,。研究團隊以中國人參為實驗材料,，利用新一代高通量測序技術對人參根的轉錄組進行了測序，共產生20多萬條高質量cDNA序列,，經序列拼接后獲得約3.1萬條獨立基因,，其中69.9％的基因獲得了功能注釋。通過生物信息學分析,，發(fā)現了幾乎全部的參與人參皂苷骨架合成的酶基因，并發(fā)掘出數百個可能參與皂苷骨架修飾的潛在基因,，相關基因的功能驗證工作正在進行中,。據悉，該研究團隊還進行了人參根,、莖,、葉和花的轉錄組測序。上述研究成果為通過分子育種獲得高皂苷含量的人參新品種及通過代謝工程生物合成人參皂苷奠定了堅實的基礎,。
人參為“百草之王”,，吉林省是中國乃至世界的人參主產區(qū)，人參產量占世界人參總產量的70%,。吉林省王儒林省長多次突出強調發(fā)展科技人參的重要性,，指出“科技對推動人參產業(yè)振興起著至關重要的作用,，關系整個人參產業(yè)的興衰成敗”，要求“把科技作為振興人參產業(yè)的切入點和突破口”,。 自2010年4月,，由吉林省政府與中國醫(yī)學科學院藥用植物研究所、中國農業(yè)科學院特產研究所,、天津中醫(yī)藥大學等多家單位發(fā)起的“中國人參基因組計劃”啟動以來,，中國人參基因組研究已取得了顯著成果，并快速推動人參基礎研究和應用研究的深入發(fā)展,，彰顯出科技對人參產業(yè)振興的重要作用,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Plant Cell Reports DOI： 10.1007/s00299-011-1070-6
454 EST analysis detects genes putatively involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis in Panax ginseng
S. Chen, H. Luo, Y. Li, Y. Sun, Q. Wu, Y. Niu, J. Song, A. Lv, Y. Zhu and C. Sun, et al.
Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer is one of the most highly valued medicinal plants in the world. To analyze the transcriptome of P. ginseng and discover the genes involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis, cDNAs derived from the total RNA of 11-year-old, wood-grownP. ginseng roots were analyzed by 454 sequencing. A total of 217,529 high quality reads (expressed sequence tags, ESTs), with an averagelength of 409 bases, were generated from a one-quarter run to yield 31,741 unique sequences. The majority (20,198; 63.6%)of the unique sequences were annotated using BLAST similarity searches. A total of 16,810 and 16,577 unique sequences wereassigned to functional classifications and biochemical pathways based on Gene Ontology analysis and the Kyoto Encyclopediaof Genes and Genomes assignment, respectively. Nine genes involved in the biosynthesis of ginsenoside skeletons and many candidategenes putatively responsible for modification of the skeletons, including 133 cytochrome P450s and 235 glycosyltransferases,were identified. From these candidates, six transcripts encoding UDP-glycosyltransferases that were most likely to be involvedin ginsenoside biosynthesis were selected. These results open a new avenue by which to explore and exploit biosynthetic andbiochemical properties that may lead to drug improvement. These 454 ESTs will provide the foundation for further functionalgenomic research into the traditional herb P. ginseng or its closely related species.
