Transcriptome and Metabolome Analyses of Taxus chinensis var. mairei Tissues Provide New Insights into the Regulation of Paclitaxel Biosynthesis

Abstract

Taxus is the natural source of the anticancer drug paclitaxel. Although significant progress has been made in elucidating the biosynthetic pathway of paclitaxel, its tissue-specific accumulation and associated regulatory networks in Taxus remains unclear. In this study, we conducted integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of the root, leaf, shoot, bark, and wood of Taxus chinensis var. mairei to investigate the tissue-specific biosynthesis and accumulation of paclitaxel. We found that paclitaxel, 10-deacetylbaccatin III, and several taxoids were significantly enriched in the leaf, bark, and shoot, while paclitaxel derivatives, such as taxayunnansin A and taxol B, accumulated primarily in the root. Most genes involved in paclitaxel biosynthesis showed the highest expression in the root and the lowest in the wood. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified several candidate transcription factors potentially regulating paclitaxel biosynthesis. Further validation using yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) and dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed that ERF68 activates the expression of taxane-2α-hydroxylase (T2H) gene, a key gene in the paclitaxel biosynthesis pathway. Collectively, our finding provides crucial insights into the transcriptional regulation of paclitaxel biosynthesis in Taxus.