Diverse specialized metabolism and their responses to lactalbumin hydrolysate in hairy root cultures of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and Salvia castanea Diels f. tomentosa Stib

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (S. miltiorrhiza) and Salvia castanea Diels f. tomentosa Stib (S. castanea) are both important medicinal plants which have been widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Tanshinone and phenolic acid are active and specialized metabolites in the two species. However, the divergent mechanism of specialized metabolism in the two species is yet unknown. We found that S. castanea produced higher levels of cryptotanshinone, tanshinone IIA, caffeic acid, and rosmarinic acid, but lower levels of dihydrotanshinone I and salvianolic acid B than S. miltiorrhiza. Some key genes involved in specialized metabolism were potentially associated with the diverse metabolism between the two species. LH with 1 g l−1 contributed more to tanshinone accumulation in S. castanea than that in S. miltiorrhiza. Genes involved in tanshinone biosynthesis in S. castanea were also more sensitive to LH than those in S. miltiorrhiza. Knowledge about diverse specialized metabolism in the two species will help us understand mechanism of tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis.