Metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses unveil the accumulation of shikimic acid in the leaves of

Introduction: Shikimic acid, as a critical precursor for oseltamivir synthesis in antiviral pharmaceuticals, faces escalating global demand. Although Methods: Here, the concentration of shikimic acid in 33 clones were assessed, and 1# (referred as HS) had the highest level. The shikimic acid content in HS was 119% higher than that in 24# (referred as LS), which possessed the lowest shikimic acid level. Concurrently, we analyzed downstream metabolites including flavonoids, phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine, along with transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles in HS and LS. Results: The concentrations of flavonoids, phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine in HS were markedly lower than those in LS. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) analyses revealed clear differences in metabolites between HS and LS. Numerous metabolites and genes related to biosynthesis and downstream metabolic partitioning of shikimic acid were significantly differentially regulated. For instance, the transcript levels of Conclusion: These results suggest that metabolites and structural genes participating in biosynthesis and downstream metabolism of shikimic acids, and phytohormones and transcript factors play essential roles in shikimic acid accumulation in