Genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine plant Oldenlandia corymbosa reveals the biosynthesis and mode of action of anti-cancer metabolites

Natural products from traditional medicinal plants are valuable candidates for clinical cancer therapy. Plants from the Oldenlandia-Hedyotis complex are popular ingredients of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), however a major hurdle in the plant bioprospecting process of TCM plants is that the active metabolites, their biosynthetic pathways, and mode of action are often unknown. We show that Oldenlandia corymbosa extracts are active against breast cancer cell lines. To study the genes involved in the biosynthesis of active compounds in this medicinal plant, we assembled a high-quality genome. We show that the main active compound is ursolic acid and that abiotic stresses cause changes in anti-cancer activity, metabolite composition, and gene expression of plants. To reveal the mode of action of ursolic acid, we show that cancer cells undergo mitotic catastrophe, and we identify three high-confidence protein binding targets by Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) and reverse docking.