Genetic and environmental factors influencing the contents of essential oil compounds in Atractylodes lancea

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 5; p. e0217522
• Main Authors: Tsusaka, Takahiro, Makino, Bunsho, Ohsawa, Ryo, Ezura, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 28.05.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Annual variations; Aquatic plants; Asian medicine; Atractylodes; Atractylodes - genetics; Atractylodes - growth & development; Biology and Life Sciences; Biosynthesis; Cloning; Composition; Correlation; Cultivars; Design of experiments; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Environmental factors; Environmental science; Essences and essential oils; Essential oils; Eudesmol; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Genetic factors; Genotypes; Herbal medicine; Heritability; Interannual variability; Medicine; Oils & fats; Oils, Volatile - metabolism; Pharmacology; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Plant Breeding; Propagation; Raw materials; Research and Analysis Methods; Rhizomes; Seeds; Selective breeding; Studies; Variability; China; Japan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217522

Rhizomes of Atractylodes lancea are used in traditional Japanese medicine (Kampo) and Chinese medicine to treat numerous diseases and disorders because they contain many pharmacologically active compounds. The major active compounds in A. lancea are essential oil compounds such as β-eudesmol, hinesol, atractylon, and atractylodin. The contents of the compounds in A. lancea exhibit high variability depending on their habitat. We cultivated clonal lines of A. lancea in different years (2016, 2017) and different locations (Hokkaido, Ibaraki) to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the contents of major compounds, namely, β-eudesmol, hinesol, atractylon, and atractylodin. Broad sense heritability of β-eudesmol, hinesol, atractylon, and atractylodin contents were 0.84, 0.77, 0.86, and 0.87, respectively. The effects of interannual variability on the contents of the compounds were lower than those of genotype. In addition, the cultivated environmental factors were assessed by different locations, and the correlations between Hokkaido and Ibaraki grown plants based on β-eudesmol, hinesol, atractylon, and atractylodin contents were 0.94, 0.94, 1.00, and 0.83, respectively. The results suggest that the contents of β-eudesmol, hinesol, atractylon, and atractylodin in A. lancea are largely influenced by genetic factors, and clonal propagation could be an effective strategy for obtaining populations with high contents of essential oil compounds. Furthermore, the contents of β-eudesmol, hinesol, atractylon, and atractylodin in A. lancea exhibited few correlations with rhizome yields. A. lancea cultivars with not only high contents of essential oil compounds but also high rhizome yield could be developed through selective breeding.