Astragalus membranaceus is an important traditional Chinese herb with various medical applications. Astragalosides (ASTs), calycosin, and calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside (CG) are the primary metabolic components in A. membranaceus roots. The dried roots of A. membranaceus have various medicinal properties. The present study aimed to investigate the expression levels of genes related to the biosynthetic pathways of ASTs, calycosin, and CG to investigate the differences between seedling roots (SRs), adventitious roots (ARs), and hairy roots (HRs) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR study revealed that the transcription level of genes involved in the AST biosynthetic pathway was lowest in ARs and showed similar patterns in HRs and SRs. Moreover, most genes involved in the synthesis of calycosin and CG exhibited the highest expression levels in SRs. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated that the expression level of the genes correlated with the content of ASTs, calycosin, and CG in the three different types of roots. ASTs were the most abundant in SRs. CG accumulation was greater than calycosin accumulation in ARs and HRs, whereas the opposite was true in SRs. Additionally, 40 metabolites were identified using gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS). Principal component analysis (PCA) documented the differences among SRs, ARs, and HRs. PCA comparatively differentiated among the three samples. The results of PCA showed that HRs were distinct from ARs and SRs on the basis of the dominant amounts of sugars and clusters derived from closely similar biochemical pathways. Also, ARs had a higher concentration of phenylalanine, a precursor for the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway, as well as CG. TCA cycle intermediates levels including succinic acid and citric acid indicated a higher amount in SRs than in the others.
Keywords: Astragalus membranaceus; astragalosides; calycosin; calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside.