Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals Key Regulators and Candidate Enzymes in the Biosynthesis of Albiflorin in Paeonia lactiflora

Paeonia lactiflora is an important traditional Chinese medicine. Its core bioactive component, albiflorin, exhibits significant pharmacological activity, but its biosynthetic pathway remains unclear, severely limiting the targeted regulation and sustainable utilization of this compound. In this study, integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that tissue specificity is a key factor driving metabolite accumulation. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified a gene module significantly positively correlated with albiflorin content. From this module, key candidate genes were screened, including MYB and bHLH transcription factor genes as well as CYP450. The expression patterns of these candidate genes were subsequently validated by qRT-PCR, confirming a strong correlation between the transcriptomic and experimental data. These findings not only clarify the molecular basis for the tissue-specific accumulation of albiflorin and provide critical targets for elucidating its complete biosynthetic pathway but also lay a solid foundation for molecular breeding and quality improvement of Paeonia lactiflora.