Advances in metabolomic applications in plant genetics and breeding.

Abstract

Metabolomics is a systems biology discipline wherein abundances of endogenous metabolites from biological samples are identified and quantitatively measured across a large range of metabolites and/or a large number of samples. Since all developmental, physiological and 'response to the environment' phenotypes have at least one metabolic component phenotype, metabolomics offers the opportunity to mechanistically dissect how metabolic processes participate in determining these complex phenotypes. Plants produce an amazingly diverse array of primary and specialized metabolites (>200000 kingdom-wide), many of which are integral for our food, feed, fibre and fuel industries. Thus, applications of metabolomics in plant genetics and breeding efforts offer efficient and effective solutions to challenges in our agricultural systems. This review briefly describes new advances in the metabolomic platforms and analysis methods that have been developed for both targeted and non-targeted metabolite profiling in plants. Special sections describing the application of these technologies are then provided for several relevant topics, including advances in plant quantitative genetics research, improved prediction of hybrid crop performance, mitigation of losses due to environmental stress, development of metabolic biomarkers for economically important traits, establishment of substantial equivalence between transgenic and conventional germplasm and biofortification for nutritional enhancement of our food supply. Future applications of metabolomics, particularly as a component discipline of phenomics, are also discussed.

Mass Spectrometry Based Molecular 3D-Cartography of Plant Metabolites

“…Are the main factors driving the distribution of chemicals over the plant organ structure, vascularization, exposure to sunlight or other environmental gradients as microbial symbionts or pathogens? Understanding these questions at a basic chemical level is an important step to understanding how to engineer plants to better resist erosion and disease, and to improving their efficiency as providers of animal nutrition, feedstocks to industrial processes or the many other roles that plants perform in natural and engineered landscape ecosystems (Yandeau-Nelson et al, 2016). …”

Application of Metabolomic Analysis in Exploration of Plant Genetic Resources

“…It is known from the previous work (Harrigan et al, 2005;Hollywood et al, 2006;Shulaev, 2006;Yandeau-Nelson et al, 2015) that the metabolomic profile's specificity is engendered by biochemical composition, depending on the genotype and the environment. The fact that we have disclosed significant differences between the metabolomic profiles of naked and covered oat serves as an argument supporting the existence of genetic differentiation in the common oat subspecies.…”

Metabolomics for Biomarker Discovery: Key Signatory Metabolic Profiles for the Identification and Discrimination of Oat Cultivars

“…Currently, plant breeding methods have integrated phenotypic traits with a range of marker-assisted selection techniques to more efficiently determine trait outcomes [ 5 ]. Although genetic markers have been at the forefront of plant breeding efforts, many limitations have restricted the use thereof in analysing complexities arising from genotype × environment interactions (environmental plasticity), polygenic inheritance and epistasis (which is referred to as the action of one gene on another) [ 6 ].…”