Project description:Luo-han-guo (Siraitia grosvenorii), also called monk fruit, is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. Monk fruit has become an important area for research because of the pharmacological and economic potential of its noncaloric, extremely sweet components (mogrosides). It is also commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of lung congestion, sore throat, and constipation. Recently, a single reference genome became available for monk fruit, assembled from 36.9x genome coverage reads via Illumina sequencing platforms. This genome assembly has a relatively short (34.2 kb) contig N50 length and lacks integrated annotations. These drawbacks make it difficult to use as a reference in assembling transcriptomes and discovering novel functional genes. Here, we offer a new high-quality draft of the S. grosvenorii genome assembled using 31 Gb (∼73.8x) long single molecule real time sequencing reads and polished with ∼50 Gb Illumina paired-end reads. The final genome assembly is approximately 469.5 Mb, with a contig N50 length of 432,384 bp, representing a 12.6-fold improvement. We further annotated 237.3 Mb of repetitive sequence and 30,565 consensus protein coding genes with combined evidence. Phylogenetic analysis showed that S. grosvenorii diverged from members of the Cucurbitaceae family approximately 40.9 million years ago. With comprehensive transcriptomic analysis and differential expression testing, we identified 4,606 up-regulated genes in the early fruit compared to the leaf, a number of which were linked to metabolic pathways regulating fruit development and ripening. The availability of this new monk fruit genome assembly, as well as the annotations, will facilitate the discovery of new functional genes and the genetic improvement of monk fruit.
Project description:Siraitia grosvenorii, an economically important plant species with high medicinal value, is endemic to subtropical China. To determine the population structure and origin of cultivated S. grosvenorii, we examined the variation in three chloroplast DNA regions (trnR-atpA, trnH-psbA, trnL-trnF) and two orthologous nuclear genes (CHS and EDL2) of S. grosvenorii in 130 wild individuals (selected from 13 wild populations across its natural distribution range) and 21 cultivated individuals using a phylogeographic approach. The results showed three distinct chloroplast lineages, which were restricted to different mountain ranges, and strong plastid phylogeographic structure. Our findings suggest that S. grosvenorii likely experienced ancient range expansion and survived in multiple refuges in subtropical China during glacial periods, resulting in population fragmentation in different mountainous areas. Our results also demonstrated that wild populations in Guilin (Guangxi, China) share the same gene pool as cultivated S. grosvenorii, suggesting that current cultivars were collected directly from local wild resources, consistent with the principles of "nearby domestication." The results of this study provide insights into improving the efficiency of S. grosvenorii breeding using a genetic approach and outline measures for the conservation of its genetic resources.
Project description:Continuous phytochemical studies of the crude extract of Luo Han Guo (Siraitia grosvenorii) furnished three additional new cucurbitane triterpene glycosides, namely 11-deoxymogroside V, 11-deoxyisomogroside V, and 11-deoxymogroside VI. The structures of all the isolated compounds were characterized on the basis of extensive NMR and mass spectral data as well as hydrolysis studies. The complete ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectral assignments of the three unknown compounds are reported for the first time based on COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, and HMBC spectroscopic data.
Project description:This study analyzed the differences in karyotype and genetic variation between a mutant and wild-type Siraitia grosvenorii. Genetic variation included changes in genome and gene expression by SRAP molecular markers. Results showed that wild-type S. grosvenorii was diploid, with a chromosome number of 2n = 2x = 28, whereas the mutant was tetraploid with a chromosome number of 2n = 4x = 56. 4573 DNA bands were obtained using 189 different primer combinations, 577 of which were polymorphic, averaging 3.1 bands for each primer pair, while 1998 pairs were identical. There were no apparent differences on bands amplified by most primer pairs. After comparing the diploid and tetraploid strains, the data generally indicated that the polymorphism would be quite low. 2917 cDNA bands were generated using 133 primer combinations, and stable and clearly differential fragments were sorted out, cloned and sequenced. Ninety-two differentially expressed fragments were successfully sequenced. Sequence analysis showed that most fragments had significant homologous nucleotide sequences with resistant to stress and photosynthesis genes, including ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, pyruvate kinase, peroxisomal membrane transporter, NBS-LRR type resistance protein, protein phosphatase and others. The results revealed that the tetraploid strain has more resistant and photosynthesis ability than its diploid relatives, which providing reference information and resources for molecular breeding and seedless Luohanguo.
Project description:Host and tissue-specificity of endophytes are important attributes that limit the endophyte application on multiple crops. Therefore, understanding the endophytic composition of the targeted crop is essential, especially for the dioecious plants where the male and female plants are different. Here, efforts were made to understand the endophytic bacterial composition of the dioecious Siraitia grosvenorii plant using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The present study revealed the association of distinct endophytic bacterial communities with different parts of male and female plants. Roots of male and female plants had a higher bacterial diversity than other parts of plants, and the roots of male plants had more bacterial diversity than the roots of female plants. Endophytes belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria were abundant in all parts of male and female plants except male stems and fruit pulp, where the Firmicutes were most abundant. Class Gammaproteobacteria predominated in both male and female plants, with the genus Acinetobacter as the most dominant and part of the core microbiome of the plant (present in all parts of both, male and female plants). The presence of distinct taxa specific to male and female plants was also identified. Macrococcus, Facklamia, and Propionibacterium were the distinct genera found only in fruit pulp, the edible part of S. grosvenorii. Predictive functional analysis revealed the abundance of enzymes of secondary metabolite (especially mogroside) biosynthesis in the associated endophytic community with predominance in roots. The present study revealed bacterial endophytic communities of male and female S. grosvenorii plants that can be further explored for monk fruit cultivation, mogroside production, and early-stage identification of male and female plants. KEY POINTS: • Male and female Siraitia grosvenorii plants had distinct endophytic communities • The diversity of endophytic communities was specific to different parts of plants • S. grosvenorii-associated endophytes may be valuable for mogroside biosynthesis and monk fruit cultivation.