Abstract:To characterize the autointoxication potential of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., the influences of Aqueous extract from seeds of G. uralensis at a concentration of 10g·L-1 on germination and relative expression of GuSQS1 and GubAS were studied. The results indicated that the germination rate of G. uralensis seeds in the aqueous extract was 62%, which is significantly lower than the germination rate of 76% in the pure water treatment. The aqueous extract treatment also significantly inhibited the GubAS gene expression. In contrast, the aqueous extract promoted the relative expression of the GuSQS1 gene. Therefore, it was concluded that the seed aqueous extract of G. uralensis can inhibit its seed germination and have significant but distinct effects on the expression of two key genes involved in the bio-synthesis pathway of glycyrrhizic acid. The findings of high autointoxication of G. uralensis seeds should be valuable for agronomic production of the species.