Switchgrass Metabolomics Reveals Striking Genotypic and Developmental Differences in Specialized Metabolic Phenotypes
[3];
[1];
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- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States, MU Metabolomics Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States, Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States, MU Metabolomics Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States, Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a bioenergy crop that grows productively on lands not suitable for food production and is an excellent target for low-pesticide input biomass production. We hypothesize that resistance to insect pests and microbial pathogens is influenced by low-molecular-weight compounds known as specialized metabolites. We employed untargeted liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, quantitative gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify differences in switchgrass ecotype metabolomes. This analysis revealed striking differences between upland and lowland switchgrass metabolomes as well as distinct developmental profiles. Terpenoid- and polyphenol-derived specialized metabolites were identified, including steroidal saponins, di- and sesqui-terpenoids, and flavonoids. The saponins are particularly abundant in switchgrass extracts and have diverse aglycone cores and sugar moieties. We report seven structurally distinct steroidal saponin classes with unique steroidal cores and glycosylated at one or two positions. Quantitative GC–MS revealed differences in total saponin concentrations in the leaf blade, leaf sheath, stem, rhizome, and root (2.3 ± 0.10, 0.5 ± 0.01, 2.5 ± 0.5, 3.0 ± 0.7, and 0.3 ± 0.01 μg/mg of dw, respectively). The quantitative data also demonstrated that saponin concentrations are higher in roots of lowland (ranging from 3.0 to 6.6 μg/mg of dw) than in upland (from 0.9 to 1.9 μg/mg of dw) ecotype plants, suggesting ecotypic-specific biosynthesis and/or biological functions. These results enable future testing of these specialized metabolites on biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and can provide information on the development of low-input bioenergy crops.
- Research Organization:
- Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0018409
- OSTI ID:
- 1873445
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1875425
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Vol. 70 Journal Issue: 26; ISSN 0021-8561
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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