Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling reveals the effect of LED light quality on morphological traits, and phenylpropanoid-derived compounds accumulation in Sarcandra glabra seedlings

Abstract

Background Sarcandra glabra is an evergreen and traditional Chinese herb with anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects. Light is one of the most influential factor affecting the growth and quality of herbs. In recent times, the introduction of Light Emission Diode (LED) technology has been widely used for plants in greenhouse. However, the impact of such lights on plant growth and the regulatory mechanism of phenylpropanoid-derived compounds in S. glabra remain unclear. Results The red LED light (RL) substantially increased the plant height and decreased the stem diameter and leaf area relative to the white LED light (WL), while the blue LED light (BL) significantly reduced the height and leaf area of S. glabra. According to transcriptomic profiling, 861, 378, 47, 10,033, 7917, and 6379 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among the groups of leaf tissue under BL (BY) vs. leaf tissue under RL (RY), BY vs. leaf tissue under WL (WY), RY vs. WY, root tissue under WL (WG) vs. WY, stem tissue under WL (WJ) vs. WG, and WJ vs. WY, respectively. We identified 46 genes encoding for almost all known enzymes involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, e.g., phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), chalcone synthase (CHS), and flavonol synthase (FLS). We found 53 genes encoding R2R3-MYB proteins and bHLH proteins, respectively, where several were related to flavonoids biosynthesis. A total of 454 metabolites were identified based on metabolomic profiling, of which 44, 87, and 296 compounds were differentially produced in WY vs. RY, WY vs. BY, and WY vs. WG. In BY there was a substantial reduction in the production of esculetin, caffeic acid, isofraxidin, and fraxidin, while the yields of quercitrin and kaempferol were significantly up-regulated. In RY, the contents of cryptochlorogenic acid, cinnamic acid, and kaempferol decreased significantly. Besides, in WG, the production of metabolites (e.g. chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, and scopolin) declined, while their yields increased significantly (e.g. esculetin, fraxetin, isofraxidin, and fraxidin). Conclusion These results provide further insight into the regulatory mechanism of accumulation patterns of phenylpropanoid-derived compounds in S. glabra under various light conditions, allowing optimum breeding conditions to be developed for this plant.

Consequences of LED Lights on Root Morphological Traits and Compounds Accumulation in Sarcandra glabra Seedlings

“…In earlier research, we observed that RL considerably increased plant height and decreased stem diameter and leaf area, while BL significantly reduced plant height and leaf area of S. glabra. Meanwhile, the BL substantially reduced the production of esculetin, caffeic acid, isofraxidin, and fraxidin, but accumulated the contents of quercitrin and kaempferol in leaves of S. glabra [16]. Under RL irradiation, the contents of cryptochlorogenic acid, cinnamic acid, and kaempferol significantly decreased in leaves of S. glabra [16].…”

“…Meanwhile, the BL substantially reduced the production of esculetin, caffeic acid, isofraxidin, and fraxidin, but accumulated the contents of quercitrin and kaempferol in leaves of S. glabra [16]. Under RL irradiation, the contents of cryptochlorogenic acid, cinnamic acid, and kaempferol significantly decreased in leaves of S. glabra [16].…”

“…Under adverse conditions, Arabidopsis could survive via reduction of GA level and rapidly increase in DELLA proteins [51]. Under BL irradiation, the seedlings of S. glabra had shorter hypocotyls and a smaller leaf area [16]. Moreover, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, peroxidase (POD) activity, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were much higher in leaves (data not shown).…”

“…Root powder (100 mg) was incubated in 0.6 mL of 70% aqueous methanol overnight at 4 • C Following 10,000× g for 10 min, the extracts were absorbed and filtrated before UPLC-MS/MS analysis (UPLC, Shim-pack UFLC SHIMADZU CBM30A system, Japan; MS, Applied Biosystems 4500Q TRAP, USA). The UPLC and ESI-Q TRAP-MS/MS conditions were displayed in the previous study [16,79].…”

He-Ne Laser Seed Treatment Improves the Nutraceutical Metabolic Pool of Sunflowers and Provides Better Tolerance Against Water Deficit

“…The secondary metabolism of plants shows sensitivity toward the quality and quantity of applied light (Danziger and Bernstein, 2021). Red, white, blue, and blue-violet light differentially affect genes, enzymes, intermediates, and products of the phenylpropanoid pathway (Taulavuori et al, 2018;Xie et al, 2020). Drought stress may also affect genes and enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway (Li et al, 2020).…”