Environmental and genetic effects on tomato seed metabolic balance and its association with germination vigor

Abstract

BackgroundThe metabolite content of a seed and its ability to germinate are determined by genetic makeup and environmental effects during development. The interaction between genetics, environment and seed metabolism and germination was studied in 72 tomato homozygous introgression lines (IL) derived from Solanum pennelli and S. esculentum M82 cultivar. Plants were grown in the field under saline and fresh water irrigation during two consecutive seasons, and collected seeds were subjected to morphological analysis, gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolic profiling and germination tests.ResultsSeed weight was under tight genetic regulation, but it was not related to germination vigor. Salinity significantly reduced seed number but had little influence on seed metabolites, affecting only 1% of the statistical comparisons. The metabolites negatively correlated to germination were simple sugars and most amino acids, while positive correlations were found for several organic acids and the N metabolites urea and dopamine. Germination tests identified putative loci for improved germination as compared to M82 and in response to salinity, which were also characterized by defined metabolic changes in the seed.ConclusionsAn integrative analysis of the metabolite and germination data revealed metabolite levels unambiguously associated with germination percentage and rate, mostly conserved in the different tested seed development environments. Such consistent relations suggest the potential for developing a method of germination vigor prediction by metabolic profiling, as well as add to our understanding of the importance of primary metabolic processes in germination.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3376-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Correlation-based network analysis combined with machine learning techniques highlight the role of the GABA shunt in Brachypodium sylvaticum freezing tolerance

“…4). The higher network connectivity of the cold-adapted accession Osl1, together with a higher ratio (~10 fold) of positive to negative correlations, supported the ability of Osl1 to adapt its metabolism at the initiation of the abiotic stress, similar to that observed in grapevine leaves 63 or tomato seeds 64 .…”

Comparative transcriptomic and metabolic analysis of wild and domesticated wheat genotypes reveals differences in chemical and physical defense responses against aphids

“…For primary metabolite analysis, the temperature program was as follows: 1 min isothermal heating at 70°C, followed by a 1°C/min oven temperature ramp to 76°C, followed by a 6°C/min oven temperature ramp to 340°C, and a final 5 min heating at 340°C. Mass spectra were recorded at 1.6 scans per second with a mass-to-charge ratio of 70 to 550 scanning range [115]. Data acquisition was conducted by Mass Hunter software and the NIST mass spectral library.…”

Environmental tuning of the genetic control of seed performance : a systems genetics approach

“…Additionally, phytochromes can also act as important mediators of environmental cues (Donohue et al 2008). Several other studies indicated that the effect of the maternal environment can be mediated via seed provisioning | Chapter 1 (Zas et al 2013), the maternal tissues such as the seed coat (MacGregor et al 2015;Chen et al 2014b) as well as the accumulation of compounds such as storage proteins, metabolites and transcripts (Rosental et al 2016;He et al 2016;de Souza Vidigal et al 2016). The successful execution of the germination program does also depend on environmental conditions encountered by the seed shed from the mother plant.…”

“…Upon imbibition, metabolic activity resumes, mobilizing stored metabolites to provide the basis for seed germination; an energy demanding process. As a result, the compounds stored in dry mature seeds reflect the process of seed maturation and can be linked to seed performance (Rosental et al 2014;Rosental et al 2016).…”

“…Commonly, the effect of environmental perturbations on the genetic basis of metabolome variation has been resolved by comparing mQTLs of the same population exposed to contrasting conditions (Kliebenstein et al 2002;Rosental et al 2016;Wu et al 2018). Although this kind of approach provides full power for the genetic analysis, often only a few conditions are tested due to practical reasons, consequently limiting insights into the extent of metabolome genetic regulation in response to environmental variation.…”