Enhancement of Sesquiterpenoid Production by Methyl Jasmonate in Atractylodes chinensis Adventitious Root Culture and its Transcriptional Regulation.

This article focuses on enhancing sesquiterpenoid production in adventitious root (AR) cultures of Atractylodes chinensis through methyl jasmonate (MeJA) elicitation and elucidates the underlying transcriptional regulation mechanisms. Treatment with 100 µM MeJA for 7 days significantly increased the accumulation of key sesquiterpenoids atractylon and β-eudesmol by 3.64- and 1.90-fold, respectively, without substantial biomass loss. Transcriptome analysis identified 124,464 unigenes, revealing that MeJA activated endogenous jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signaling pathways, particularly upregulating genes in the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway over the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, as well as 14 terpene synthase genes. Additionally, transcription factors from the Tify, MYB, and MADS families were differentially expressed, with a novel antagonistic interaction predicted between MYC2 and CPP transcription factors under MeJA treatment. These findings provide a molecular basis for improving in vitro sesquiterpenoid production in A. chinensis AR cultures and contribute to understanding MeJA-mediated transcriptional regulation.