A Metabolic Profiling Analysis Revealed a Primary Metabolism Reprogramming in Arabidopsis glyI4 Loss-of-Function Mutant

Abstract

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a cytotoxic compound often produced as a side product of metabolic processes such as glycolysis, lipid peroxidation, and photosynthesis. MG is mainly scavenged by the glyoxalase system, a two-step pathway, in which the coordinate activity of GLYI and GLYII transforms it into D-lactate, releasing GSH. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a member of the GLYI family named GLYI4 has been recently characterized. In glyI4 mutant plants, a general stress phenotype characterized by compromised MG scavenging, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), stomatal closure, and reduced fitness was observed. In order to shed some light on the impact of gly4 loss-of-function on plant metabolism, we applied a high resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolomic approach to Arabidopsis Col-8 wild type and glyI4 mutant plants. A compound library containing a total of 70 metabolites, differentially synthesized in glyI4 compared to Col-8, was obtained. Pathway analysis of the identified compounds showed that the upregulated pathways are mainly involved in redox reactions and cellular energy maintenance, and those downregulated in plant defense and growth. These results improved our understanding of the impacts of glyI4 loss-of-function on the general reprogramming of the plant’s metabolic landscape as a strategy for surviving under adverse physiological conditions.

Integrated transcriptome and metabolome analyses reveal the adaptation of Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans to drought stress

“…There is strong correlation between endogenous allantoin levels and physiological responses under various stresses, such as drought and high salinity. In addition, both allantoin and purines generally enhance tolerance to adverse physiological conditions ( Proietti et al, 2021 ). The phenylpropanoid pathway plays a key role in plant development and defense, as well as in the biosynthesis of flavonoids and phenolic acids ( Camas et al, 2012 ).…”

“…The native vascular plant C. quitensis in the Antarctic Peninsula likely relies on leaf CO 2 transfer to promote leaf carbon uptake and growth in response to climate change (Sáez et al, 2018). Using an open top chamber with an increase of about 4°C at midday to mimick the effect of global warming, a detailed examination of the upregulated and downregulated proteins revealed substantial metabolic reprogramming, resulting in improved photoprotection and oxidative stress control, as well as lower cell wall component composition (Bertini et al, 2021). Additionally, fungi endophytes may contribute to the adaptation of C. quitensis to the extreme cold and aridity of Antarctica (Hereme et al, 2020).…”

Plant defense: ARR11 response regulator as a potential player in Arabidopsis

“…TBARS levels were used to assess lipid peroxidation following the protocol described in Bertini et al., 2019 and in Proietti et al., 2021 , on leaves of Col-8 and arr11 plants, three days after B. cinerea infection, with or without hormone treatment. Briefly, four hundred milligrams of frozen leaves were finely ground using a mortar and pestle under continuous addition of liquid nitrogen.…”

Trans-cinnamaldehyde-related overproduction of benzoic acid and oxidative stress on Arabidopsis thaliana

“…This cinnamic acid can be transformed by cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases (CAD) to produce monolignols, the fundamental units of lignin. The expression of the CAD genes, especially CAD-C and CAD-D, has important defensive functions in the plant (Tronchet et al, 2010;Proietti et al, 2021), so a higher production of cinnamic acid may be an indicator of a stress situation in the plant. Subsequently, transcinnamic acid can be transformed into BA via three different biosynthetic routes: a b-oxidative route, which requires CoA, a non-b-oxidative CoA-dependent pathway and a non-b-oxidative CoA-independent pathway (Widhalm and Dudareva, 2015).…”