Medicinal Plant Research 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 97-106 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/mpr 102 Figure 1 Schematic presentation of terpenoid biosynthetic pathway in LJFs of ‘Yujin2’ compared to ‘Fengjin1’ (Adopted from Li et al., 2022) Image caption: the upregulated, downregulated, mix-regulated, and unchanged genes (bold fonts) and metabolites (small circles) in ‘Yujin2’ are represented in red, blue, yellow, and gray, respectively. The first three and the latter three squares of a bar represent the normalized abundance values of DEGs or DAVs from ‘Yujin2’ and ‘Fengjin1’, respectively. Red and blue colors reflect high and low expression levels, respectively. The asterisk followed by the gene name indicate that the gene expression was validated by qRT-PCR. The solid line, dashed line, and dotted line indicate a single-step reaction, a multi-step reaction, and the movement of substances, respectively (Adopted from Li et al., 2022) 6.3 Lessons learned from case studies and future prospects The case studies on breeding and field applications of Lonicera japonica provide several valuable lessons and future prospects. Firstly, the success of breeding programs like ‘Yujin2’ underscores the importance of integrating metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses to understand the regulatory mechanisms of key medicinal compounds (Li et al., 2022). Secondly, the utilization of all aerial parts of Lonicera japonica, including leaves and stems, can maximize the medicinal value of the plant and provide alternative sources for traditional medicine (Cai et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020). Thirdly, the application of electric fields to enhance the growth and hyperaccumulation abilities of Lonicera japonica demonstrates the potential for innovative approaches in environmental remediation (Liu et al., 2022). Future research should focus on further optimizing breeding strategies to enhance specific medicinal properties, exploring the full potential of different plant parts, and developing new applications for high-medicinal-value cultivars. Additionally, the integration of advanced genomic and metabolomic techniques will be crucial in identifying and manipulating key genes and pathways involved in the biosynthesis of medicinal compounds (Ran et al., 2023; Yin et al., 2023). By building on these lessons and prospects, the medicinal value of Lonicera japonica can be further enhanced and diversified for various applications. 7 Challenges and Future Directions 7.1 Current limitations inLonicera japonicabreeding Breeding Lonicera japonica, a plant with significant medicinal and economic value, faces several challenges. One major limitation is the incomplete understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying its desirable traits, such as floral scent and bioactive compound production. For instance, while studies have identified key metabolites and genes involved in the biosynthesis of floral scents, the precise regulatory networks remain largely unknown (Li et
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