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Article|04 Mar 2025|OPEN
A chromosome-scale genome assembly and epigenomic profiling reveal temperature-dependent histone methylation in iridoid biosynthesis regulation in Scrophularia ningpoensis
Qing Xu1 ,† , Chang Liu1 ,† , Bin Li1 , Kewei Tian1 , Lei Yo2 , Li Xie3 , Huang Wang3 , Meide Zhang4 , Wuxian Zhou4 , Yonghong Zhang2 , and Chao Zhou,1 ,
1Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Regional Plant Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement (CTGU)/Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immunotherapy, College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences/College of Basic Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
2Laboratory of Medicinal Plant, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Biomedical Research Institute, Hubei Key Laboratory of Wudang Local Chinese Medicine Research, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan 442000, China
3Genome De novo Division, Wuhan Frasergen Bioinformatics Co., Ltd, Wuhan 430073, China
4Institute of Chinese Herbal Medicines, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Enshi 445000, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: zhangyh@hbmu.edu.cn,zhouchao@ctgu.edu.cn
Both authors contributed equally to the study.

Horticulture Research 12,
Article number: uhae328 (2025)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae328
Views: 2226

Received: 04 Jul 2024
Accepted: 15 Nov 2024
Published online: 04 Mar 2025

Abstract

Understanding how medicinal plants adapt to global warming, particularly through epigenetic mechanisms that modify phenotypes without changing DNA sequences is crucial. Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl., a traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), produces bioactive compounds that are influenced by environmental temperatures, making it an ideal model for studying the biological basis of TCM geoherbalism. However, the adaptive potential of epigenetic marks in S. ningpoensis under varying temperatures remains understudied, partly due to the absence of a reference genome. Here, it was demonstrated that mild warm temperatures contribute to the metabolic accumulation and the cultivated migration of S. ningpoensis using a global dataset. A high-quality chromosome-level genome was assembled, and an atlas of epigenetic, metabolic, and transcriptomic profiles across different tissues. Transcriptome analysis identified 3401 allele-specific expressed genes (ASEGs) across nine tissues by comparing two haplotypes. ChIP-seq and BS-seq data from leaf and root tissues revealed that ASEGs are associated with distinct epigenetic patterns, particularly the active mark H3K36me3, which functions differently in these tissues. Notably, genes marked with H3K36me3 in iridoid synthesis pathway predominantly expressed in roots. Additionally, the histone methyltransferase SnSDG8 was identified to regulate ectopic H3K36me3 in iridoid biosynthesis in response to warming temperatures. Our results highlight the epigenetic mechanisms of global warming on herb-derived products, significant for medicinal plant breeding under temperature stress.