Cynomorium songaricum is a root holoparasitic herb that is mainly hosted in the roots of Nitraria roborowskii and Nitraria sibirica distributed in the arid desert and saline-alkaline regions. The stem of C. songaricum is widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine and applied in anti-viral, anti-obesity and anti-diabetes, which largely rely on the bioactive components including: polysaccharides, flavonoids and triterpenes. Although the differences in growth characteristics of C. songaricum between N. roborowskii and N. sibirica have been reported, the difference of the two hosts on growth and polysaccharides biosynthesis in C. songaricum as well as regulation mechanism are not limited. Here, the physiological characteristics and transcriptome of C. songaricum host in N. roborowskii (CR) and N. sibirica (CS) were conducted. The results showed that the fresh weight, soluble sugar content and antioxidant capacity on a per stem basis exhibited a 3.3-, 3.0- and 2.1-fold increase in CR compared to CS. A total of 16,921 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed in CR versus CS, with 2573 characterized genes, 1725 up-regulated and 848 down-regulated. Based on biological functions, 50 DEGs were associated with polysaccharides and starch metabolism as well as their transport. The expression levels of the selected 37 genes were validated by qRT-PCR and almost consistent with their Reads Per kb per Million values. These findings would provide useful references for improving the yield and quality of C. songaricum.

Fritillaria unibracteata (FRU) belongs to the genus Fritillaria of the Liliaceae family. It is one of the original plants of the Chinese medicinal material “Chuanbeimu” and also a biological resource featured in the Tibetan Plateau of China. The dried bulbs of FRU are used in traditional Chinese medicine. The chemical constituents of FRU that have been isolated and identified include alkaloids, sterols, organic acids and their esters, nucleosides and volatile oils. FRU has antitussive, expectorant, anti-asthmatic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, acute lung injury-reducing, antifibrosis, antitumor, and other pharmacological effects. This valuable plant has an extremely high market demand, and over the years, due to over-exploitation, FRU has now been listed as a key species that is endangered and scarcely cultivated in China as a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. However, research on FRU is rare, and its effective components, resource control, and mechanisms of action need further study. This review systematically discusses the herbal characteristics, resource distribution, chemical composition, biosynthesis, pharmacological effects, clinical application, and breeding techniques of FRU, hoping to provide a reference for further research and the use of FRU.

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has given birth to many indigenous highland plants due to its special geographical location and sensitivity to climate change. Relevantly, the impact of climate change on species distribution has been a hot issue for research in biogeography. Using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model, the spatial distribution of habitat suitability for Fritillaria przewalskii Maxim. (FPM) on the Tibetan Plateau was predicted and ranked by combining ecological data and information on its actual current geographical distribution. The potential distribution and trends of FPM on the Tibetan Plateau from 2021 to 2040, 2041 to 2060, 2061 to 2080 and 2081 to 2100 under four current and future climate scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370 and SSP585) were also predicted. The predictions were found to be highly accurate with AUC values of 0.9645 and 0.9345 for the training and test sets, respectively. A number of conclusions could be drawn from the results. Firstly, the main ecological factors limiting the growth distribution of FPM were the Vegetation types, NPP (net primary production), Soil types, Bio7 (temperature annual range), Pop (population), Slope, GDP, Aspect, Bio1 (annual mean temperature) and Elevation, with a cumulative contribution of 97.6%. Secondly, in the recent past period of 1970–2000, the total suitable distribution area of FPM accounted for 5.55% of the plateau’s total area, which was about 14.11 × 10⁴ km², concentrated in its eastern and central regions. Thirdly, compared to the previous period, the aforementioned distribution area will, for the period spanning 2021–2040, increase by 14.48%, 16.23%, 16.99%, and 21.53% in the SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios, respectively. This comes with an overall expansion trend, and the areas predicted to be affected are concentrated in the eastern and central-western parts of the Tibetan Plateau. The other three future periods 2041–2060, 2061–2080, and 2081–2100 also show increases in these total areas to varying degrees. It is noteworthy that in the future periods 2061–2080 and 2081–2100, under the SSP370 and SSP585 scenarios, the area of high suitable distribution decreases or even disappears. Lastly, under the four climate scenarios, the FPM suitable distribution area will shift towards the western part of the Tibetan Plateau.