Multi-omics analyses reveal regulatory networks underpinning metabolite biosynthesis in Nicotiana tabacum
Tobacco is a significant industrial crop, serving as a model for plant science and a promising specie for the production of proteins and small molecules. However, system biology studies of tobacco under natural field cultivation conditions remain scarce. Here, we construct a genome-scale metabolic regulatory network through integration of dynamic transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles from field-grown tobacco leaves across two ecologically distinct regions. We map 25,984 genes and 633 metabolites into 3.17 million regulatory pairs using multi-algorithm integration. This network reveals three pivotal transcriptional hubs, including NtMYB28 (promoting hydroxycinnamic acids synthesis by modifying Nt4CL2 and NtPAL2 expression), NtERF167 (amplifying lipid synthesis via NtLACS2 activation) and NtCYC (driving aroma production through NtLOX2 induction). These transcriptional hubs achieve substantial yield improvements of target metabolites by rewiring metabolic flux. The present work provides a systems-level atlas of tobacco metabolic regulation and may help to guide metabolic engineering.
Authors
- Qinzhi Xiao
- Shuhui Duan
- Jianbin Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7934-8808)
- Junping Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9285-2539)
- Qinggang Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9687-7266)
- Risheng Hu
- Tianbo Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8181-1790)
- Song Sheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7319-0628)
- Huina Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2285-2293)
- Shaolong Wu
- Huan XIAO
- Zhengrong Hu
- Wenxuan Pu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3933-4909)
- Jiaming Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5847-6031)
- Zhicheng Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1179-2798)
- Zhongshan Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4634-061X)
- Yangyang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5687-9489)
- Qingxia Zheng
- Ping‐Ping Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2875-2365)
- Yongjun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2909-1730)
- Jiashuo Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5483-2588)
- Xiaoxu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3778-3964)
- Bei Yu
- Shuaibin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5074-8496)
Institutions
- Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CN)
- Central South University (CN)
- China Tobacco (CN)
- Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (CN)
- Tobacco Research Institute (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-11-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65299-6
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.61