Widely-Targeted Metabolomics for Plants

Applicable for identifying metabolic changes in different stages of plant growth such as seed germination, stem elongation, flower development, pollination, and fruit development.

Article Spotlight: MicroTom Metabolic Network: Rewiring Tomato Metabolic Regulatory Network throughout the Growth Cycle

This study integrated high-resolution Spatio-temporal metabolome and transcriptome data to systematically explore the metabolic landscape across 20 major tomato tissues and growth stages. Based on their MicroTom Metabolic Network, they divided 540 detected metabolites and their co-expressed genes into 10 distinct clusters based on their biological functions. This enabled them to construct a global map of the major metabolic changes that occur throughout the tomato growth cycle and dissected the underlying regulatory network. Furthermore, they identified novel transcription factors that regulate the biosynthesis of important secondary metabolites such as steroidal glycoalkaloids and flavonoids.

Applicable for research in plant response to:

 Abiotic stress: light (UV), water (drought, waterlogging), heavy metals (cadmium, lead, etc.), temperature (high temperature, low temperature), mechanical damage and other external factors bring reversible or irreversible effects on plants.

 Biological stress: the influence of insects, bacteria, fungi, and viruses on the growth and development of plants.

 Article Spotlight: Analysis of Global Methylome and Gene Expression during Carbon Reserve Mobilization in Stems under Soil Drying

In this study, the researchers looked at high-resolution DNA methylome in rice (Oryza sativa) during moderate soil drying (MD) conditions. They found a hypermethylated/up-regulated transcription factor of MYBS2 inhibited MYB30 expression and possibly enhanced β-Amylase5 expression, promoting subsequent starch degradation in rice stems under MD treatment. In addition, a hypermethylated/down-regulated transcription factor of ERF24 was predicted to interact with, and thereby decrease the expression of, abscisic acid 8'-hydroxylase1, thus increasing abscisic acid concentration under MD treatment.

Applicable for examining metabolites associated with crop phenotypes such as yield, grain width, grain color, nutrient composition, plant height, lodging resistance, fruit size, fruit color, taste, and many selected traits.

Article Spotlight: UDP-glucosyltransferase regulates grain size and abiotic stress tolerance associated with metabolic flux redirection in rice

Researchers characterized GSA1, a gene that regulates grain size and abiotic stress tolerance associated with metabolic flux redirection by exhibiting glucosyltransferase activity toward flavonoids and monolignols. GSA1 regulates grain size by modulating cell proliferation and expansion, which are regulated by flavonoid-mediated auxin levels and related gene expression. GSA1 is required for the redirection of metabolic flux from lignin biosynthesis to flavonoid biosynthesis under abiotic stress and the accumulation of flavonoid glycosides, which protect rice against abiotic stress. GSA1 overexpression results in larger grains and enhanced abiotic stress tolerance.

Article Spotlight: Identification of key taste components in loquat using widely targeted metabolomics

The researchers tackle the question of why white-fleshed loquats taste better by performing LC-MS/MS-based widely targeted metabolome analysis. A total of 536 metabolites were identified, 193 of which (including 7 carbohydrates, 12 organic acids, and 8 amino acids) were different between the cultivars. Pathway enrichment analysis also identified significant differences in phenolic pathways between the cultivars. Our results suggest that taste differences between the cultivars can be explained by variations in composition and abundance of carbohydrates, organic acids, amino acids, and phenolics.