<i>TfWRKY40</i> positively regulates diosgenin biosynthesis in <i>Trigonella foenum-graecum</i> L.

ABSTRACT: Diosgenin is a bioactive steroidal natural product extraced from plants and serves as an important precursor for the industrial production of steroidal hormone drugs. Despite its pharmacological significance, the biosynthetic and regulatory mechanisms underlying diosgenin production in the medicinal plant T. foenum-graecum remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified TfWRKY40, a WRKY transcription factor from T. foenum-graecum, whose expression strongly correlates with diosgenin accumulation. Using RNA interference and overexpression strategies combined with transcriptomic analysis and targeted metabolite quantification, we demonstrated that silencing of TfWRKY40 led to a 67.60% reduction in diosgenin content, which was accompanied by downregulation of

SUBMITTER: Xu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12504280 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature