scholarly journals The GC-TOF/MS-based Metabolomic analysis reveals altered metabolic profiles in nitrogen-deficient leaves and roots of tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng-He Lin ◽  
Chang-Song Chen ◽  
Qiu-Sheng Zhong ◽  
Qi-Chun Ruan ◽  
Zhi-Hui Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is commonly considered as one of the most important limiting factors in the agricultural production. As a result, a large amount of N fertilizer is used to improve the yield in modern tea production. Unfortunately, the large amount of N fertilizer input has led to increased plant nitrogen-tolerance and decreased amplitude of yield improvement, which results in significant N loss, energy waste and environment pollution. However, the effects of N-deficiency on the metabolic profiles of tea leaves and roots are not well understood. Results In this study, seedlings of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze Chunlv 2 were treated with 3 mM NH4NO3 (Control) or without NH4NO3 (N-deficiency) for 4 months by sandy culture. The results suggested that N-deficiency induced tea leaf chlorosis, impaired biomass accumulation, decreased the leaf chlorophyll content and N absorption when they were compared to the Control samples. The untargeted metabolomics based on GC-TOF/MS approach revealed a discrimination of the metabolic profiles between N-deficient tea leaves and roots. The identification and classification of the altered metabolites indicated that N deficiency upregulated the relative abundances of most phenylpropanoids and organic acids, while downregulated the relative abundances of most amino acids in tea leaves. Differentially, N-deficiency induced the accumulation of most carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids in tea roots. The potential biomarkers screened in N-deficient leaves compared to Control implied that N deficiency might reduce the tea quality. Unlike the N-deficient leaves, the potential biomarkers in N-deficient roots indicated an improved stress response might occur in tea roots. Conclusions The results demonstrated N deficiency had different effects on the primary and secondary metabolism in tea leaves and roots. The findings of this study will facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the N-deficient tea plants and provide a valuable reference for the optimized N nutrient management and the sustainable development in the tea plantations.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng-He Lin ◽  
Chang-Song Chen ◽  
Qiu-Sheng Zhong ◽  
Qi-Chun Ruan ◽  
Zhi-Hui Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is commonly considered as one of the most omportant limiting factors in the agricultural production. As a result, modern tea production, a large amount of N fertilizer is used to improve the yield. Unfortunately, the large amount of N fertilizer input has led to increased plant nitrogen-tolerance and decreased amplitude of yield improvement, which results in significant N loss, energy waste and environment pollution.However, the effects of N-deficiency on the metabolic profiles of leaves and roots are not well understood.Results: In the study, seedlings of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze cv. Chunlv 2 were treated with 3 mM NH4NO3(as Control)or without NH4NO3(as N-deficiency)for 4 months by sandy culture. The results suggested the N-deficiency induced tea leaf chlorosis, impaired biomass accumulation, decreased the leaf chlorophyll content and N absorption compared to Control. The untargeted metabolomics based on GC-TOF/MS approach revealed discrimination of the metabolic profiles between N-deficient tea leaves and roots. The identification and classification of the altered metabolites indicated the N deficiency upregulated the relative abundances of most phenylpropanoids, organic acids while downregulated the relative abundances of most amino acids in the tea leaves. Differentially, N-deficiency induced the accumulation of most carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids in the tea roots. The potential biomarkers screened in the N-deficient leaves compared to Control reflected the N deficiency reduced the tea quality. Unlike the N-deficient leaves, the potential biomarkers in the N-deficient roots implied an improved stress response. Conclusions:The results demonstrated the N deficiency had different effects on the primary and secondary metabolic alteration of tea leaves and roots. The findings of the study will facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the N-deficient tea plants and provide a valuable reference for the optimized N nutrient management in the tea plantations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 3683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santosh KC ◽  
Meiya Liu ◽  
Qunfeng Zhang ◽  
Kai Fan ◽  
Yuanzhi Shi ◽  
...  

The qualities of tea (Camellia sinensis) are not clearly understood in terms of integrated leading molecular regulatory network mechanisms behind inorganic phosphate (Pi) limitation. Thus, the present work aims to elucidate transcription factor-dependent responses of quality-related metabolites and the expression of genes to phosphate (P) starvation. The tea plant organs were subjected to metabolomics analysis by GC×GC-TOF/MS and UPLC-Q-TOF/MS along with transcription factors and 13 metabolic genes by qRT-PCR. We found P starvation upregulated SPX2 and the change response of Pi is highly dependent on young shoots. This led to increased change in abundance of carbohydrates (fructose and glucose), amino acids in leaves (threonine and methionine), and root (phenylalanine, alanine, tryptophan, and tyrosine). Flavonoids and their glycosides accumulated in leaves and root exposed to P limitation was consistent with the upregulated expression of anthocyanidin reductase (EC 1.3.1.77), leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase (EC 1.4.11.19) and glycosyltransferases (UGT78D1, UGT78D2 and UGT57L12). Despite the similar kinetics and high correlation response of Pi and SPX2 in young shoots, predominating theanine and other amino acids (serine, threonine, glutamate, valine, methionine, phenylalanine) and catechin (EGC, EGCG and CG) content displayed opposite changes in response to Pi limitation between Fengqing and Longjing-43 tea cultivars.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santosh KC ◽  
Lizhi Long ◽  
Meiya Liu ◽  
Qunfeng Zhang ◽  
Jianyun Ruan

Metabolites are major contributors to the quality of tea that are regulated by various abiotic stresses. Light intensity and phosphorus (P) supply affect the metabolism of tea plants. However, how these two factors interact and mediate the metabolite levels in tea plants are not fully understood. The present study investigated the consequences of different light intensity and P regimes on the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and flavonoids in the Fengqing tea cultivar. The leaves and young shoots were subjected to untargeted metabolomics analysis by two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOF/MS), ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-TOF/MS (UPLC–Q–TOF/MS), and targeted analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) along with quantification of gene expression by quantitative real time-PCR (qRT–PCR). The results from young shoots showed that amino acids, pentose phosphate, and flavonol glycosides pathways were enhanced in response to decreasing light intensities and P deficiency. The expression of the genes hexokinase 1, ribose 5-phosphate isomerase A (RPIA), glutamate synthetase 1 (GS1), prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H), and arginase was induced by P limitation, thereafter affecting carbohydrates and amino acids metabolism, where shading modulated the responses of transcripts and corresponding metabolites caused by P deficiency. P deprivation repressed the expression of Pi transport, stress, sensing, and signaling (SPX2) and induced bidirectional sugar transporter (SWEET3) and amino acid permeases (AAP) which ultimately caused an increase in the amino acids: glutamate (Glu), proline (Pro), and arginine (Arg) under shading but decreased catechins [epicatechingallate (ECG) and Gallic acid, GA] content in young shoots.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li An ◽  
Lili Lin ◽  
Shouchuan Wang ◽  
Xia Zhao ◽  
Tong Xie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cold syndrome CS and Heat syndrome ( H S)S), with the opposite clinical manifestations, are two main syndrome types of pediatric community acquired pneumonia ( in Traditional Chinese medicine TCM )). According to research of syndrome types among CAP children, about 2.92% of them can be identified with CS while 91.25% with HS. This study aim s t o analyze plasma metabolic profiles and find out potential biomarkers for distinguishing H S from CS.Methods A total of 296 patients and 55 healthy controls (HC) were divided into discovery group ( n =213, HS=160, CS=23, HC= 30) and validation group N=138, HS=93, CS=20, HC = Plasma metabolic profiles were detected by ultra performance liquid chromatography combined with linear ion trap quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC/LTQ Orbitrap MS) in both positive and negative mode. Finally, plasma metabolic profiles were obtained through principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS DA)DA). Differential metabolites in CS and HS were screened by counting the value of fold change (FC 1.5 or 0.667 P value ( P 0.05 ) and false discovery rate (FDR 0.05 Diagnostic accuracy of potential biomarkers was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results Among all metabolites 3 amino acids including alanine, phenylalanine, arginine, and 4 glycerophospholipids including lysoPC20:1, lysoPE16:0, lysoPE18:0, PE(16:0 22:6) were increased (FC 1.5 FDR 0.05) in CS versus HC . While 6 glycerophospholipids including PC(18:1 18:1), PC(20:4 20:4), lysoPE 20:4, lysoPE 18:2, lysoPE 22:6 andPE(16:0 18:2) were decreased (FC 0. 667 FDR 0.05) in HS versus HC. However, Ceramide(d18:1 24:1) was increased in HS versus HC . Differential metabolites were mainly involved in amino acid, glycerophospholipid and linoleic acid metabolism via KEGG pathway analysis P<0.05) and they all exhibited good diagnostic abilities with ROC analysis AUC 0.9 54 Mo reover, lyso PC20:1, lysoPE16:0, lysoPE18:2, lysoPE20:4, lysoPE22:6, PC(18:1_18:1), PC(20:4_20: and PC(P 16:0_22:4) may serve as potential biomarkers for distinguishing HS from CS.Conclusions Plasma metabolism of amino acids and lipids (triglyceride, glycerophospholipid and sphingomyelin were largely disturbed in CAP children with CS or HS. Among them, detection of glycerophospholipids via metabolomics can help diagnose these two syndrome types on clinic.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Chang Ha Park ◽  
Hyeon Ji Yeo ◽  
Ye Jin Kim ◽  
Bao Van Nguyen ◽  
Ye Eun Park ◽  
...  

This study aimed to elucidate the variations in primary and secondary metabolites during Lycorisradiata flower development using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS). The result showed that seven carotenoids, seven phenolic acids, three anthocyanins, and galantamine were identified in the L. radiata flowers. Most secondary metabolite levels gradually decreased according to the flower developmental stages. A total of 51 metabolites, including amines, sugars, sugar intermediates, sugar alcohols, amino acids, organic acids, phenolic acids, and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, were identified and quantified using GC-TOFMS. Among the hydrophilic compounds, most amino acids increased during flower development; in contrast, TCA cycle intermediates and sugars decreased. In particular, glutamine, asparagine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid, which represent the main inter- and intracellular nitrogen carriers, were positively correlated with the other amino acids and were negatively correlated with the TCA cycle intermediates. Furthermore, quantitation data of the 51 hydrophilic compounds were subjected to partial least-squares discriminant analyses (PLS-DA) to assess significant differences in the metabolites of L. radiata flowers from stages 1 to 4. Therefore, this study will serve as the foundation for a biochemical approach to understand both primary and secondary metabolism in L. radiata flower development.


Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Chanel J. Pretorius ◽  
Fidele Tugizimana ◽  
Paul A. Steenkamp ◽  
Lizelle A. Piater ◽  
Ian A. Dubery

The first step in crop introduction—or breeding programmes—requires cultivar identification and characterisation. Rapid identification methods would therefore greatly improve registration, breeding, seed, trade and inspection processes. Metabolomics has proven to be indispensable in interrogating cellular biochemistry and phenotyping. Furthermore, metabolic fingerprints are chemical maps that can provide detailed insights into the molecular composition of a biological system under consideration. Here, metabolomics was applied to unravel differential metabolic profiles of various oat (Avena sativa) cultivars (Magnifico, Dunnart, Pallinup, Overberg and SWK001) and to identify signatory biomarkers for cultivar identification. The respective cultivars were grown under controlled conditions up to the 3-week maturity stage, and leaves and roots were harvested for each cultivar. Metabolites were extracted using 80% methanol, and extracts were analysed on an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight (qTOF) high-definition mass spectrometer analytical platform. The generated data were processed and analysed using multivariate statistical methods. Principal component analysis (PCA) models were computed for both leaf and root data, with PCA score plots indicating cultivar-related clustering of the samples and pointing to underlying differential metabolic profiles of these cultivars. Further multivariate analyses were performed to profile differential signatory markers, which included carboxylic acids, amino acids, fatty acids, phenolic compounds (hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids, and associated derivatives) and flavonoids, among the respective cultivars. Based on the key signatory metabolic markers, the cultivars were successfully distinguished from one another in profiles derived from both leaves and roots. The study demonstrates that metabolomics can be used as a rapid phenotyping tool for cultivar differentiation.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1377
Author(s):  
Song-Hui Soung ◽  
Sunmin Lee ◽  
Seung-Hwa Lee ◽  
Hae-Jin Kim ◽  
Na-Rae Lee ◽  
...  

Numerous varieties of doenjang are manufactured by many food companies using different ingredients and fermentation processes, and thus, the qualities such as taste and flavor are very different. Therefore, in this study, we compared many products, specifically, 19 traditional doenjang (TD) and 17 industrial doenjang (ID). Subsequently, we performed non-targeted metabolite profiling, and multivariate statistical analysis to discover distinct metabolites in two types of doenjang. Amino acids, organic acids, isoflavone aglycones, non-DDMP (2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4- one) soyasaponins, hydroxyisoflavones, and biogenic amines were relatively abundant in TD. On the contrary, contents of dipeptides, lysophospholipids, isoflavone glucosides and DDMP-conjugated soyasaponin, precursors of the above-mentioned metabolites, were comparatively higher in ID. We also observed relatively higher antioxidant, protease, and β-glucosidase activities in TD. Our results may provide valuable information on doenjang to consumers and manufacturers, which can be used while selecting and developing new products.


1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Canny ◽  
ME Mccully

Three methods of sampling xylem sap of maize roots were compared: sap bleeding from the stem cut just above the ground; sap bleeding from the cut tops of roots still undisturbed in the ground; and sap aspirated from excavated roots under reduced pressure. The bleeding saps were often unobtainable. When their composition was measured with time from cutting, the concentrations of the major solutes approximately doubled in 2 h. Aspirated sap was chosen as the most reliable sample of root xylem contents. Solute concentrations of the saps showed great variability between individual roots for all solutes, but on average the concentrations found (in �mol g-1 sap) were: total amino acids, 1.8; nitrate, 1.8; sugars (mainly sucrose), 5.4; total organic acids, 18.3. Individual amino acids also varied greatly between roots. Glutamine, aspartic acid and serine were generally most abundant. The principal organic acid found was malic, approximately 8 �mol g-1. From these analyses the ratios of carbon in the fractions (sugars : amino acids : organic acids) = (44 : 6 : 50). 14Carbon pulse fed to a leaf appeared in the root sap within 30 min, rose to a peak at 4-6 h, and declined slowly over a week. During all this time the neutral, cation and anion fractions were sensibly constant in the proportions 86 : 10 : 4. The 14C therefore did not move towards the equilibrium of 12C-compounds in the sap. It is argued that the results do not support a hypothesis of formation of amino carbon from recent assimilate and reduced nitrate in the roots and an export of this to the shoot in the transpiration stream.


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