Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Analyses Reveals the Molecular Regulatory Mechanisms of Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Embryos in Response to Shade Treatment

Abstract

The walnut is an important nut that has numerous uses worldwide. However, due to dwarf and close plantation methods as well as continuous cloudy or rainy days that occur during periods of walnut oil accumulation, the walnut fruit exhibits varying degrees of stress under low-light conditions. However, the effects of shade on metabolites and genes in walnut embryos remain unclear in the literature. The purpose of this study is to investigate the lipid biosynthesis process that occurs in walnut embryos under shade treatment via the use of metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses. The results indicate that the oil content decreases significantly under shaded conditions, while the protein content increases significantly. The expression levels of fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) and stearoyl-ACP-desaturase (SAD) involved in the lipid biosynthesis mechanism were significantly reduced in the shaded group, which resulted in reductions in oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), and α-linolenic (C18:3) acids. The reduced oil content was consistent with the downregulation of genes associated with the lipid biosynthesis mechanism. In the amino acid biosynthesis process, the upregulated cysteine synthase (cscK) and anthranilate synthase beta subunit 2 (trpG) genes promoted the accumulation of L-aspartic acid and L-citrulline. The increase in protein content was consistent with the upregulation of genes related to amino acid biosynthesis. Thus, our study provides new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of shade underlying overall walnut fruit quality.

Historical spread routes of wild walnuts in Central Asia shaped by man-made and nature

“…The publication of a high-quality walnut genome advances research on walnut and other related valuable species ( Zhang et al., 2020 ). This includes structural analysis, genetic map construction, and molecular marker-assisted breeding ( Liang et al., 2023 ; Yang et al., 2023 ; Zhou et al., 2023 ). However, until an updated reference genome is published, there is limited information available about the genome ( Jin et al., 2022 ; Luo et al., 2022 ).…”