Revealing the Impact of the Environment on Cistanche salsa: From Global Ecological Regionalization to Soil Microbial Community Characteristics

Revealing ecotype influences on Cistanche sinensis: from the perspective of endophytes to metabolites characteristics

Introduction

Plant microorganism is critical to plant health, adaptability, and productive forces. Intriguingly, the metabolites and microorganisms can act upon each other in a plant. The union of metabolomics and microbiome may uncover the crucial connections of the plant to its microbiome. It has important benefits for the agricultural industry and human being health, particularly for Chinese medical science investigation.

Methods

In this last 2 years study, on the strength of the UPLC-MS/MS detection platform, we accurately qualitatively, and quantitatively measured the Cistanche sinensis fleshy stems of two ecotypes. Thereafter, through high-throughput amplicon sequencing 16S/ITS sequences were procured.

Results

PhGs metabolites including echinacoside, isoacteoside, and cistanoside A were significantly downregulated at two ecotypes of C. sinensis. Add up to 876 metabolites were monitored and 231 differential metabolites were analyzed. Further analysis of 34 core differential metabolites showed that 15 compounds with up-regulated belonged to phenolic acids, flavonoids, and organic acids, while 19 compounds with down-regulated belonged to phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides. There was no noteworthy discrepancy in the endophytic bacteria's α and β diversity between sandy and loam ecotypes. By comparison, the α and β diversity of endophytic fungi was notably distinct. The fungal community of the loam ecotype is more abundant than the sandy ecotype. However, there were few such differences in bacteria. Most abundant genera included typical endophytes such as Phyllobacterium, Mycobacterium, Cistanche, Geosmithia, and Fusarium. LEfSe results revealed there were 11 and 20 biomarkers of endophytic bacteria and fungi in C. sinensis at two ecotypes, respectively. The combination parsing of microflora and metabolites indicated noteworthy relativity between the endophytic fungal communities and metabolite output. Key correlation results that Anseongella was positive relation with Syringin, Arsenicitalea is negative relation with 7-methylxanthine and Pseudogymnoascus is completely positively correlated with nepetin-7-O-alloside.

Discussion

The aim of this research is: (1) to explore firstly the influence of ecotype on C. sinensis from the perspective of endophytes and metabolites; (2) to investigate the relationship between endophytes and metabolites. This discovery advances our understanding of the interaction between endophytes and plants and provides a theoretical basis for cultivation of C. sinensis in future.

Remedial effect and operating status of a decommissioned uranium mill tailings (UMT) repository: A micro-ecological perspective based on bacterial community

From a radioecological perspective, increasing attention has been paid to the long-term stabilisation of decommissioned uranium mill tailings (UMT) repositories. However, little is known about the evaluation of decommissioning and remedial effects of UMT repositories from a microecological perspective based on bacterial communities. Here, we analysed the distribution and structure of soil community assemblies along different vertical soil profiles in a decommissioned UMT repository and explored the impact of soil properties, including physicochemical parameters, metal(loid)s, and radionuclides, on the bacterial assemblage. We found that the α diversity of the bacterial community was unaffected by variations in different soil profiles and taxa were classified at the phylum level with small significant differences. In contrast, the bacterial community structure in and around the UMT repository showed significant differences; however, this difference was significantly affected by soil metal(loid)s and physicochemical properties rather than soil radionuclides. In addition, seven bacterial genera with significant differences between the inner and surrounding regions of the repository could be used as potential indicators to further investigate the remedial effects on soil environmental quality. These findings provide novel insights into the construction of an assessment system and in situ biomonitoring of UMT repositories from a microecological perspective based on bacterial communities.

Identification of a secondary Q-marker in high-quality ecotypes of Carthamus tinctorius L. and exploration of the target preference

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) has the efficacy for promoting blood circulation and preventing cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases and is thus a valuable medicinal and functional food plant. However, how to evaluate high-quality safflower is still a problem. To differentiate intraspecies ecotypes and illustrate the mechanisms of differential metabolites of C. tinctorius from different regions, this study combined the widely targeted metabolome, weighted network pharmacology, and molecular docking to filter bioactive compounds and predict the target preference. The results indicated that kaempferol is suitable as a secondary Q-marker to differentiate intraspecies ecotypes. In secondary metabolites, the average content of kaempferol and its derivates in C. tinctorius from Sichuan is three times that of other areas, which have the potential for the targeted medicine of CA2 and TNF. In volatile metabolites, isoaromadendrene epoxide has the potential as a specifically targeted medicine of RXRA. The change of the target preference could be the reason for the difference in drug efficacy among different varieties of C. tinctorius. It is reasonable that Sichuan was recognized as a high-quality ecotype producing region of C. tinctorius in China, which promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis. This study provides an innovative method to differentiate intraspecies ecotypes and explore their target preference.

Cordyceps cicadae and Cordyceps gunnii have closer species correlation with Cordyceps sinensis: from the perspective of metabonomic and MaxEnt models

Cordyceps sinensis is a second-class nationally-protected medicinal fungus and functional food. Cordyceps sinensis resources are endangered, and finding new medicinal materials is a fast and economical way to meet the current demonstrated demand, which can effectively solve the shortage of C. sinensis resources. In this study, the metabolite characteristics of Cordyceps were comprehensively revealed by LC-QTOF-MS technology. The maxent model can be used to predict the habitat suitability distribution of Cordyceps and screen out the main climatic factors affecting its distribution. The correlation model between climate factors and chemical components was established by Pearson correlation analysis. Finally, based on the analysis of climate factors and metabolites, we will analyze the high correlation species with C. sinensis, and develop them as possible alternative species of C. sinensis in the future. The results showed that the suitable area of Cordyceps cicadae demonstrated a downward trend, while that of C. sinensis, Cordyceps militaris and Cordyceps gunnii demonstrated an upwards trend. The suitable areas all shifted to the northwest. The temperature seasonality and max temperature of the warmest month are the maximum climatic factors affecting nucleosides. Compared with C. sinensis, the metabolic spectrum similarities of C. cicadae, C. militaris, and C. gunnii were 94.42%, 80.82%, and 91.00%, respectively. Cordyceps sinensis, C. cicadae, and C. gunnii were correlated well for compounds and climate factors. This study will explore whether C. cicadae, C. militaris and C. gunnii can be used as substitutes for C. sinensis. Our results may provide a reference for resource conservation and sustainable utilization of endangered C. sinensis.

Identifying the natural reserve area of Cistanche salsa under the effects of multiple host plants and climate change conditions using a maximum entropy model in Xinjiang, China

Cistanche salsa (C. A. Mey.) G. Beck, a holoparasitic desert medicine plant with multiple hosts, is regarded as a potential future desert economic plant. However, as a result of excessive exploitation and poaching, its wild resources have become scarce. Thus, before developing its desert economic value, this plant has to be protected, and the identification of its natural reserve is currently the top priority. However, in previous nature reserve prediction studies, the influence of host plants has been overlooked, particularly in holoparasitic plants with multiple hosts. In this study, we sought to identify the conservation areas of wild C. salsa by considering multiple host-plant interactions and climate change conditions using the MaxEnt model. Additionally, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the autocorrelation between environmental variables. The effects of the natural distribution of the host plants in terms of natural distribution from the perspective of niche similarities and extrapolation detection were considered by filtering the most influential hosts: Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (Linnaeus), Gueldenstaedt, and Nitraria sibirica Pall. Additionally, the change trends in these hosts based on climate change conditions combined with the change trends in C. salsa were used to identify a core protection area of 126483.5 km². In this article, we corrected and tried to avoid some of the common mistakes found in species distribution models based on the findings of previous research and fully considered the effects of host plants for multiple-host holoparasitic plants to provide a new perspective on the prediction of holoparasitic plants and to provide scientific zoning for biodiversity conservation in desert ecosystems. This research will hopefully serve as a significant reference for decision-makers.

Analysis of microbial diversity and community structure of rhizosphere soil of Cistanche salsa from different host plants

Host plants influence rhizosphere microorganism composition through root secretions, and rhizosphere associated microorganisms influence Cistanche seeds germination. At present, little is known about effects of different host plants on soil bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere of Cistanche salsa. High-throughput sequencing was used here to reveal the similarities and differences in the structural composition of the soil microbial community of C. salsa from six host plants (i.e., Halocnemum strobilaceum, Atriplex patens, Kalidium foliatum, Caroxylon passerinum, Anabasis aphylla, Krascheninnikovia ceratoides). We discovered that Krascheninnikovia ceratoides-parasitizing C. salsa (YRCR6) had the highest diversity of rhizosphere bacterial communities, and Anabasis aphylla -parasitizing C. salsa (YRCR5) had the highest diversity of rhizosphere fungal communities. Fungal communities were more influenced by the host plant than bacterial communities. In addition, we discovered certain rhizosphere microorganisms that may be associated with Cistanche seeds germination, including Mortierella, Aspergillus alliaceus, and Cladosporium, which are account for a relatively high proportion in Halocnemum strobilaceum, Atriplex patens and Anabasis aphylla -parasitizing C. salsa. Redundancy analysis results also revealed that AP, HCO₃^–, pH, Ca²⁺, SO₄^2–, and K⁺ had a highly significant impact on the bacterial community structure (P < 0.01), while pH and SO₄^2– had a significant impact on the fungal community structure (P < 0.05). Conclusively, differences were noted in the structure of rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities of C. salsa parasitizing different plants in the same habit and the difference may be related to the host plant. This result can provide a new ideas for the selection of host plants and the cultivation of C. salsa.

Assembly, Core Microbiota, and Function of the Rhizosphere Soil and Bark Microbiota in Eucommia ulmoides

Medicinal plants are inhabited by diverse microbes in every compartment, and which play an essential role in host growth and development, nutrient absorption, synthesis of secondary metabolites, and resistance to biological and abiotic stress. However, the ecological processes that manage microbiota assembly and the phenotypic and metabolic characteristics of the core microbiota of Eucommia ulmoides remain poorly explored. Here, we systematically evaluated the effects of genotypes, compartment niches, and environmental conditions (climate, soil nutrition, and secondary metabolites) on the assembly of rhizosphere soil and bark associated bacterial communities. In addition, phenotypic and metabolic characteristics of E. ulmoides core microbiota, and their relationship with dominant taxa, rare taxa, and pharmacologically active compounds were deciphered. Results suggested that microbiota assembly along the two compartments were predominantly shaped by the environment (especially pH, relative humidity, and geniposide acid) and not by host genotype or compartment niche. There were 690 shared genera in the rhizosphere soil and bark, and the bark microbiota was mainly derived from rhizosphere soil. Core microbiota of E. ulmoides was a highly interactive “hub” microbes connecting dominant and rare taxa, and its phenotypic characteristics had a selective effect on compartment niches. Metabolic functions of the core microbiota included ammonia oxidation, nitrogen fixation, and polyhydroxybutyrate storage, which are closely related to plant growth or metabolism. Moreover, some core taxa were also significantly correlated with three active compounds. These findings provide an important scientific basis for sustainable agricultural management based on the precise regulation of the rhizosphere soil and bark microbiota of E. ulmoides.

Maxent Modeling for Identifying the Nature Reserve of Cistanche deserticola Ma under Effects of the Host (Haloxylon Bunge) Forest and Climate Changes in Xinjiang, China

Cistanche deserticola Ma is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant exclusively parasitizing on the roots of Haloxylon ammodendron (C. A. Mey.) Bunge and H. Persicum Bunge ex Boiss and the primary cultivated crop of the desert economy. Its wild resources became scarce due to over-exploitation and poaching for economic benefits. To protect the biological diversity of the desert Haloxylon–Cistanche community forest, the optimal combination of desert ecology and economy industry, and their future survival, this paper examines the conservation areas of wild C. deserticola from the perspective of hosts’ effects and climate changes. To identify conservation areas, the potential distributions generated by MaxEnt in two strategies (AH: abiotic and hosts factors; HO: hosts factors only) compare the model’s performance, the niche range overlap, and the changing trend in climate changes. The results show the following: (1) The HO strategy is more suitable for prediction and identifying the core conservation areas in hosts and climate changes (indirectly affected by host distributions) for C. deserticola. (2) The low-suitable habitat and the medium-suitable habitat are both sensitive to the climate changes; the reduction reaches 48.2% (SSP585, 2081–2100) and 26.6%(SSP370, 2081–2100), respectively. The highly suitable habitat is always in growth, with growth reaching 27.3% (SSP585, 2081–2100). (3) Core conservation areas and agriculture and education areas are 317,315.118 km2 and 319,489.874 km2, respectively. This study developed a predictive model for Maxent under climate change scenarios by limiting host and abiotic factors and inverted the natural habitat of C. deserticola to provide scientific zoning for biodiversity conservation in desert Haloxylon–Cistanche community forests systems, providing an effective reference for decision makers.

Fighting climate change: soil bacteria communities and topography play a role in plant colonization of desert areas

Global warming has exacerbated desertification in arid regions. Exploring the environmental variables and microbial communities that drive the dynamics of geographic patterns of desert crops is important for large-scale standardization of crops that can control desertification. Here, predictions based on future climate data from CMIP6 show that a steady expand in the suitable production areas for three desert plants (Cistanche deserticola, Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche salsa) under global warming, demonstrating their high adaptability to future climate change. We examined the biogeography of three desert plant soil bacteria communities and assessed the environmental factors affecting the community assembly process. The α-diversity significantly decreased along elevated latitudes, indicating that the soil bacterial communities of the three species have latitude diversity patterns. The neutral community model evaluated 66.6% of the explained variance of the bacterial community in the soil of desert plants and Modified Stochasticity Ratio <0.5, suggesting that deterministic processes dominate the assembly of bacterial communities in three desert plants. Moreover, topography (longitude, elevation) and precipitation as well as key OTUs (OTU4911: Streptomyces eurythermus and OTU4672: Streptomyces flaveus) drive the colonization of three desert plants. This research offers a promising solution for desert management in arid areas under global warming.

Influence of the Environment on the Distribution and Quality of Gentiana dahurica Fisch

Gentiana dahurica Fisch. is a characteristic medicinal plant found in Inner Mongolia, China. To meet the increase in market demand and promote the development of medicinal plant science, we explored the influence of the environment on its distribution and the quantity of its active compounds (loganic acid and 6'-O-β-D-glucosylgentiopicroside) to find suitable cultivation areas for G. dahurica. Based on the geographical distribution of G. dahurica in Inner Mongolia and the ecological factors that affect its growth, identified from the literature and field visits, a boosted regression tree (BRT) was used to model ecologically suitable areas in the region. The relationship between the content of each of active compound in the plant and ecological factors was also established for Inner Mongolia using linear regression. The results showed that elevation and soil type had the most significant influence on the distribution of G. dahurica-their relative contribution was 30.188% and 28.947%, respectively. The factors that had the greatest impact on the distribution of high-quality G. dahurica were annual precipitation, annual mean temperature, and temperature seasonality. The results of BRT and linear regression modeling showed that suitable areas for high-quality G. dahurica included eastern Ordos, southern Baotou, Hohhot, southern Wulanchabu, southern Xilin Gol, and central Chifeng. However, there were no significant correlations between the contents of loganic acid and 6'-O-β-D-glucosylgentiopicroside and the ecological factors. This study explored the influence of the environment on the growth and quantity of active compounds in G. dahurica to provide guidance for coordinating the development of medicinal plant science.

Cistanches Herba, from an endangered species to a big brand of Chinese medicine

Cistanches Herba (CH, Chinese name: Roucongrong), is a very precious, tonic Chinese medicine. Cistanche deserticola and Cistanche tubulosa are the two commonly used species and authenticated in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Due to the parasitic nature of Cistanche plants, the wild source was once endangered and listed in the Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. However, after continuously struggling in the past decades, CH has grown up to a big brand of Chinese medicine featured with the cultivation area as 1.26 million mu, the annual output as 6000 tons, and the related industrial output value as more than 20 billion China Yuan, attributing to large-scale cultivation and in-depth phytochemical and pharmacological investigations. Noteworthily, great achievements have reached concerning the research and development of relevant products, such as modern drugs, traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, and dietary supplements. The current review summarizes the research progresses concerning the distribution and cultivation, phytochemistry, pharmacology, metabolism and product development of CH in the past decades, and the emerging challenges and developing prospects are discussed as well.