中药品质是保证中药安全、有效、质量可控的基础，中药品质差异形成的内在机制是中药品质研究的核心与焦点。中药品质的差异形成与其原植物的适应性进化密切相关，然而其背后的形成机制尚不明确。因此解析中药原植物适应性进化的分子机制及其药效成分的分布规律，可揭示药材品质差异的形成机制。大黄是重要的常用大宗药材，其品质存在明显的地域性差异，是研究药材品质差异形成机制的理想材料。本项目拟以掌叶大黄为研究对象，利用转录组学的研究方法探讨大黄品质差异形成的遗传学基础和适应性进化特征，利用代谢组学研究明确大黄药效成分的地缘差异，并联合转录组学和代谢组学结果阐明大黄药效成分生物合成途径及关键酶基因，解析基因表达量与大黄品质差异形成之间的相关性，综合探讨大黄品质差异形成的内在机制及过程。本项目的开展不仅能揭示大黄品质差异形成的内在机制，也可为药材核心种质库的构建和遗传多样性的保护提供新的思路和理论依据。

Quality on Chinese medicines (QCM) is a basis for ensuring safety, efficiency and quality control of Chinese medicines, and the intrinsic mechanism of difference of QCM is a central focus of the process of QCM. The formation of difference of QCM is closely related to the adaptive evolution of its source plant; however, the underlying formative mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanism of adaptive evolution and distribution of bioactive components among different populations of the source plant may help us to reveal the intrinsic mechanism of the difference of QCM. Rhubarb is an important bulk medicinal material with regional differences of QCM and is an ideal candidate for studying the formative mechanism of difference of QCM. In this project, we focus on the Rheum palmatum L. to reveal the genetic basis and population adaptive characters of quality difference formation of rhubarb using transcriptomics, and to illuminate the geographical differences of its medicinal material by metabonomics. In addition, we will integrate the transcriptomics and metabonomics to analyze the pathway and key enzyme genes related to the synthesis of bioactive components detected in rhubarb, and then reveal the correlation between gene expression and discrepant metabolites. Finally, the intrinsic causes and process of the quality difference formation of rhubarb will be clarified. The findings of this project can not only reveal the intrinsic mechanism of quality difference formation of rhubarb, but also provide a new approach and theoretical basis for constructing core germplasm for rhubarb and protecting the genetic diversity of its source plants.