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Article|19 Jan 2022|OPEN
Rejuvenation increases leaf biomass and flavonoid accumulation in Ginkgo biloba 
Zhaogeng Lu1,3 ,† , Likui Zhu1 ,† , Jinkai Lu1 , Nan Shen1 , Lu Wang1 , Sian Liu1 , Qingjie Wang1 , Wanwen Yu4 , Hisashi Kato-Noguchi5 , Weixing Li1 , Biao Jin1 and Li Wang1 , , Jinxing Lin,2 ,
1College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
2Institute of Tree Development and Genome Editing, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 10083,China
3Agricultural College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
4Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
5Laboratory of Plant Biochemistry, Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Kagawa 761-0795, Japan
*Corresponding author. E-mail: liwang@yzu.edu.cn,linjx@ibcas.ac.cn
†Both authors contributed equally to the study.

Horticulture Research 9,
Article number: uhab018 (2022)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhab018
Views: 685

Received: 15 Mar 2021
Revised: 18 Jul 2021
Accepted: 09 Sep 2021
Published online: 19 Jan 2022

Abstract

Rejuvenation refers to the transition from an adult state to a juvenile state. Trunk truncation at the base of the tree can result in tree rejuvenation. However, little is known about the association of rejuvenation with leaf biomass and flavonoid accumulation. The results of this study showed that, compared with control leaves, leaves of renewed Ginkgo biloba shoots were larger, thicker, and more lobed and had higher fresh/dry weights and chlorophyll contents. The leaf biomass per hectare of rejuvenated trees was twofold higher than that of the untruncated controls. Moreover, we observed a marked increase in the accumulation of flavonol glycosides via metabolomic analysis and detected upregulated expression of genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, including CHS, FLS, F3’H, DFR, and LAR. Overexpression of GbCHS in ginkgo calli confirmed that GbCHS plays an important role in flavonoid biosynthesis. Interestingly, the contents of gibberellins significantly increased in the rejuvenated leaves. Moreover, exogenous gibberellin treatment significantly increased GbCHS expression and flavonoid contents. Our findings show that truncation can stimulate tree rejuvenation by altering hormone levels, representing an effective and feasible approach for enhancing the biomass and flavonoid content of G. biloba leaves.