Comparative Transcriptome and Metabolic Profiling Analysis of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum Tataricum (L.) Gaertn.) under Salinity Stress

Abstract

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum (L.) Gaertn.) is a nutritional crop, which has high flavonoid content. However, buckwheat is a salt sensitive glycophyte cereal crop and the growth and grain yield of buckwheat are significantly affected by soil salinity. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome of salt treated-buckwheat to understand the effects of salinity on buckwheat. A total of 50,681,938 clean reads were acquired from all samples. We acquired 94,950 unigenes with a mean length of 1133 bp and N50 length of 1900 bp assembly. Of these, 63,305 unigenes (66.7%) were matched in public databases. Comparison of the transcriptome expression patterns between control and salt treated groups showed that 4098 unigenes were up-regulated and 3292 unigenes were down-regulated significantly. Further, we found that genes involved with amino acid, lipid and nucleotide metabolism were most responsive to salt stress. Additionally, many genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis changed significantly following treatment. Those affected included phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis. Chromatographic analysis was used to examine the differences in concentration of flavonoids, carotenoids, amino acids and organic acids in the samples following treatment. There was a significant increase in rutin (12.115 mg/g dry weight), following salt stress; whereas, six carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, 13Z-β-carotene, α-carotene, E-β-carotene and 9Z-β-carotene) did not significantly respond to salt stress. Ultimately, our data acts as a valuable resource for future research on buckwheat and can be used as the basis for future analysis focused on gene-to-metabolite networks in buckwheat.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal mechanisms of adaptation to salinity in which carbon and nitrogen metabolism is altered in sugar beet roots

“…Similar to that which occurred in the present study, Liu et al [66] analyzed switchgrass under drought stress and found a large amount of AA and OA accumulation. Metabolomic analysis of buckwheat under salt stress also led to the same conclusion [49]. This suggests that plants may first rearrange OAs and AAs in response to salt stress [8].…”

“…Some studies have indicated that phenylpropane biosynthesis is related to flavonoid and lignin synthesis, which can improve the osmoregulatory effect of Fraxinus mandshurica [48]. Ma et al reported similar conclusions with respect to buckwheat [49]. Therefore, the accumulation of Asc, apigenin-7-glucoside and luteolin may be involved in the salt response of plants.…”

Distribution of polyphenolic and sugar compounds in different buckwheat plant parts

“…The presence and the development of phenolic compounds inuence their formation and stability, as well as the environmental factors or treatments. 10,19 The presence of procyanidins, among other polyphenols, lead to the health application of different parts of buckwheat, contributing to the initiation of many authors of buckwheat as a functional food. 24,25 Overall, the obtained results for 'Novosadska' buckwheat variety showed the similar polyphenols and prominent antioxidant capacity which were also reported by Kiprovski et al 23 Following the polyphenolic prole through different parts of buckwheat, it can be used for further investigations of the path and mechanism of the action of polyphenols.…”

Metabolomics and health: from nutritional crops and plant-based pharmaceuticals to profiling of human biofluids

“…Therefore, metabolomics has potential to target many subjects for applications across several fields, such as chemotaxonomy, nutrition, pharmacology, and personalized medicine [7][8][9]. In plant science, metabolomics has been adopted to study not only the metabolite profiles of different crops or medicinal plants but also the taxonomic or biochemical differences of plant species grown in different ecotypes [5] or to trace the response of the metabolites under biotic/abiotic stimuli and plant adaptation [10]. Other applications include studying the difference between wild and domesticated or transgenic plants, crop improvement [11], biosynthesis pathway elucidation, correlation between metabolic markers and biological activity of medicinal plants [12], quality control of herbal preparations, and others [13].…”