Characteristics of endophytic bacteria and active ingredients in the Eucommiae cortex from different origins

Xuejuan Liang; Kang Zhou; Penghui Li; Dan Wan; Jing Liu; Xin Yi; Yanmei Peng

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1164674

Characteristics of endophytic bacteria and active ingredients in the Eucommiae cortex from different origins

Front Microbiol. 2023 May 17:14:1164674. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1164674. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xuejuan Liang¹, Kang Zhou², Penghui Li¹, Dan Wan¹, Jing Liu³, Xin Yi², Yanmei Peng¹

Affiliations

¹ Innovative Medicine Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
² College of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
³ College of Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore the differences between Eucommiae cortex (EC) endophytic bacteria from different origins and their effects on the active ingredients of EC.

Methods: A total of 10 samples of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. (E. ulmoides) bark were collected from each of the following four regions, namely, Zunyi in Guizhou (GZ), Baokang in Hubei (HUB), Cili in Hunan (HUN), and Loyang in Shaanxi (SX). Subsequently, the contents of the main active ingredients of EC were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), and the endophytic bacteria of EC were detected by 16S rRNA sequencing. The relationship between the dominant endophytic bacteria and the active ingredients was investigated by correlation analysis.

Results: A total of 4,551 different operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were delineated in the four groups of samples, of which 585, 439, 957, and 684 genera were annotated from GZ, HUB, HUN, and SX, respectively. The richness and diversity of endophytic bacteria from different origins were ranked as HUN > SX > GZ or HUB. The analysis demonstrated that there was no significant correlation between the diversity and richness of endophytic bacteria in EC and its active ingredients. Nevertheless, notable variations in the community structures of endophytic bacteria were observed across different origins, and they had a considerable impact on certain active ingredients in EC. Comamonas and Cedecea were the dominant genera. Characteristic bacteria of different origins could be clearly distinguished. Simultaneous, significant correlations had been identified between some characteristic endophytic bacteria derived from different origins and active ingredients of EC. For example, Delftia, a characteristic bacterium from GZ, showed a significant positive correlation with pinoresinol diglucoside. Paenibacillus and Klebsiella, two characteristic bacteria from HUB, exhibited significant positive correlations with geniposidic acid. Thauera, a characteristic bacterium from HUN, demonstrated a significant positive correlation with geniposide. Brevundimonas, a characteristic bacterium from SX, displayed a significant positive correlation with pinoresinol diglucoside.

Conclusion: There was a complex correlation between EC endophytic bacteria and active ingredient content, while EC endophytic bacteria from different origins had significant differences at the genus level.

Keywords: E. ulmoides; Eucommiae cortex; active ingredient; endophytic bacteria; origin.

Grants and funding

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81903746), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2020JJ5326), the Hunan Province Key R&D Project (No. 2021SK2012), the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision Administration Provincial Bureau Science and Technology Plan Project (No. 2022KJJH37), the General items of local food safety standards in Hunan Province in 2021 [No. Xiangwei Food Department Memo [2021] No. 35], and the Huang Boliang National Famous and Old Chinese Medicine Expert Inheritance Studio Construction Project [Chinese Medicine People's Education Letter [2019] No. 41].