Jiawen Chen | Search PubMed

PubMed2026

Metabolome-based genome-wide association study provides genetic insights into the andrographolide accumulation in Andrographis paniculata.

Andrographis paniculata is a distinctive medicinal plant that produces andrographolide-related metabolites, a class of diterpenoid compounds with potent anti-inflammatory activities. To elucidate the genetic mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of these compounds, we perform comprehensive metabolic profiling and whole-genome resequencing on a natural population of A. paniculata. Population structure analysis reveals four distinct subgroups characterized by low intra-group genetic diversity but significant inter-group differentiation. Through metabolome-based genome-wide association study, we identify a significant locus associated with 14-deoxyandrographolide content. This locus harbors the candidate gene ApNB-ARC25 (CXN00004106), which encodes an NB-ARC domain-containing resistance protein. Functional characterization using virus-induced gene silencing shows that silencing of ApNB-ARC25 significantly reduces andrographolide accumulation and downregulates expressions of key genes in the andrographolide biosynthetic pathway. Heterologous overexpression of ApNB-ARC25 in rice not only improves resistance to blast disease but also enhances diterpenoid phytoalexin production. Our findings reveal that ApNB-ARC25 promotes diterpenoid accumulation and andrographolide biosynthesis by upregulating key genes involved in terpenoid backbone formation and diterpenoid synthesis. This work not only expands the functional understanding of the ApNB-ARC gene family but also provides a genetic resource for enhancing valuable compound accumulation in medicinal plants, offering important insights into the molecular regulation of medicinal metabolite biosynthesis.

Diterpenes↗

PubMed2025

Admixture-mapping analysis reveals genetic determinants of the human plasma proteome.

Protein profiling and genetic findings can be integrated to define the genetic architecture of the circulating proteome in chronic diseases. Most self-identified African American (AA) individuals have both African and European genetic ancestry. Admixture mapping can detect genomic association regions in which causal variants exist with substantial differences in allele frequency or effect sizes between genetic ancestries. We performed admixture mapping of the circulating proteome in 1,989 participants from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), investigating the relation of local African ancestry within genomic regions with levels of circulating proteins. We conditioned protein-local ancestry association models on variants previously found to be associated with those proteins in genome-wide association studies (GWASs). We replicated findings in 196 AA participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). 62 proteins were associated with local African ancestry. 21 of 62 remained statistically significant after conditioning on protein-associated variants observed in previous GWASs. 48 of 54 available protein-local ancestry associations were replicated in the MESA. Proteins associated with local African ancestry included chemokines, factors associated with vascular biology and inflammation, and other biologically interesting proteins. Admixture associations unexplained by previously reported protein-associated variants in conditional analysis suggest the existence of causal variants missed by standard GWAS techniques.

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