Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analyses Reveal That Fullerol Improves Drought Tolerance in Brassica napus L

Abstract

Carbon nanoparticles have potential threats to plant growth and stress tolerance. The polyhydroxy fullerene—fullerol (one of the carbon nanoparticles) could increase biomass accumulation in several plants subjected to drought; however, the underlying molecular and metabolic mechanisms governed by fullerol in improving drought tolerance in Brassica napus remain unclear. In the present study, exogenous fullerol was applied to the leaves of B. napus seedlings under drought conditions. The results of transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed changes in the molecular and metabolic profiles of B. napus. The differentially expressed genes and the differentially accumulated metabolites, induced by drought or fullerol treatment, were mainly enriched in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism (e.g., “carbon metabolism” and “galactose metabolism”), amino acid metabolism (e.g., “biosynthesis of amino acids” and “arginine and proline metabolism”), and secondary metabolite metabolism (e.g., “biosynthesis of secondary metabolites”). For carbohydrate metabolism, the accumulation of oligosaccharides (e.g., sucrose) was decreased, whereas that of monosaccharides (e.g., mannose and myo-inositol) was increased by drought. With regard to amino acid metabolism, under drought stress, the accumulation of amino acids such as phenylalanine and tryptophan decreased, whereas that of glutamate and proline increased. Further, for secondary metabolite metabolism, B. napus subjected to soil drying showed a reduction in phenolics and flavonoids, such as hyperoside and trans-3-coumaric acid. However, the accumulation of carbohydrates was almost unchanged in fullerol-treated B. napus subjected to drought. When exposed to water shortage, the accumulation of amino acids, such as proline, was decreased upon fullerol treatment. However, that of phenolics and flavonoids, such as luteolin and trans-3-coumaric acid, was enhanced. Our findings suggest that fullerol can alleviate the inhibitory effects of drought on phenolics and flavonoids to enhance drought tolerance in B. napus.

Integration of genome-wide association studies, metabolomics, and transcriptomics reveals phenolic acid- and flavonoid-associated genes and their regulatory elements under drought stress in rapeseed flowers

“…Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses have shown that flavonoid accumulation is important to improve drought tolerance in B . napus ( Xiong and Ma, 2022 ). An increase in phenolic content in rapeseed tested under water scarcity has been shown in several studies ( Son et al., 2020 ; Okafor et al., 2022 ; Morsi et al., 2023 ).…”

“…The iron-chelating properties and RSA of flavonoids are closely related; iron is chelated by the flavonoid and ROS are subsequently scavenged by the flavonoids (Kejik et al, 2021;Agraharam et al, 2022). Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses have shown that flavonoid accumulation is important to improve drought tolerance in B. napus (Xiong and Ma, 2022). An increase in phenolic content in rapeseed tested under water scarcity has been shown in several studies (Son et al, 2020;Okafor et al, 2022;Morsi et al, 2023).…”

Green manure increases peanut production by shaping the rhizosphere bacterial community and regulating soil metabolites under continuous peanut production systems

“…Raffinose, melibiose, stachyose, and sucrose are all oligosaccharides involved in galactose metabolism. The oligosaccharides are energetic and structural substances that can serve as carbon sources for plant growth and development [ 38 – 40 ]. Salt stress down-regulated the soil sucrose metabolism and reduced the production of sugars, which adversely affected plant growth [ 41 ].…”

Carbon Nanomaterials as Regulators of Stress Resistance in Plants

“…According to a study by Samadi et al 81 , single-walled carbon nanotubes at low concentrations (25, 50, 100 μg/ml) stimulated the synthesis of bioactive compounds of thyme (Thymus daenensis), the development of its callus, and antioxidant activity. These nanoparticles activated antioxidant enzymes, namely polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase, dehydrogenase and peroxidase.…”