Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy-Based Metabolite Profiling of Transgenic Tomato Fruit Engineered to Accumulate Spermidine and Spermine Reveals Enhanced Anabolic and Nitrogen-Carbon Interactions
Open Access
- 13 October 2006
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Plant Physiology
- Vol. 142 (4), 1759-1770
- https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.106.084400
Abstract
Polyamines are ubiquitous aliphatic amines that have been implicated in myriad processes, but their precise biochemical roles are not fully understood. We have carried out metabolite profiling analyses of transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit engineered to accumulate the higher polyamines spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm) to bring an insight into the metabolic processes that Spd/Spm regulate in plants. NMR spectroscopic analysis revealed distinct metabolite trends in the transgenic and wild-type/azygous fruits ripened off the vine. Distinct metabolites (glutamine, asparagine, choline, citrate, fumarate, malate, and an unidentified compound A) accumulated in the red transgenic fruit, while the levels of valine, aspartic acid, sucrose, and glucose were significantly lower as compared to the control (wild-type and azygous) red fruit. The levels of isoleucine, glucose, γ-aminobutyrate, phenylalanine, and fructose remained similar in the nontransgenic and transgenic fruits. Statistical treatment of the metabolite variables distinguished the control fruits from the transgenic fruit and provided credence to the pronounced, differential metabolite profiles seen during ripening of the transgenic fruits. The pathways involved in the nitrogen sensing/signaling and carbon metabolism seem preferentially activated in the high Spd/Spm transgenics. The metabolite profiling analysis suggests that Spd and Spm are perceived as nitrogenous metabolites by the fruit cells, which in turn results in the stimulation of carbon sequestration. This is seen manifested in higher respiratory activity and up-regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase transcripts in the transgenic fruit compared to controls, indicating high metabolic status of the transgenics even late in fruit ripening.Keywords
This publication has 56 references indexed in Scilit:
- Characteristics of the Polyamine Transporter TPO1 and Regulation of Its Activity and Cellular Localization by PhosphorylationOnline Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2005
- Amino Acid Metabolism in Maize Earshoots. Implications for Assimilate Preconditioning and Nitrogen SignalingPlant Physiology, 2004
- Effects of chronic N additions on tissue chemistry, photosynthetic capacity, and carbon sequestration potential of a red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) stand in the NE United StatesForest Ecology and Management, 2004
- Wheat Flour Enzymatic Amylolysis Monitored by in Situ1H NMR SpectroscopyJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2004
- Analysis of Relative Gene Expression Data Using Real-Time Quantitative PCR and the 2−ΔΔCT MethodMethods, 2001
- Reciprocal diurnal changes of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase expression and cytosolic pyruvate kinase, citrate synthase and NADP‐isocitrate dehydrogenase expression regulate organic acid metabolism during nitrate assimilation in tobacco leavesPlant, Cell & Environment, 2000
- High levels of intracellular polyamines promote histone acetyltransferase activity resulting in chromatin hyperacetylationJournal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2000
- Nitrate Acts as a Signal to Induce Organic Acid Metabolism and Repress Starch Metabolism in TobaccoTHE PLANT CELL ONLINE, 1997
- Expression of a humanS-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase cDNA in transgenic tobacco and its effects on polyamine biosynthesisTransgenic Research, 1994
- The possible role of intracellular polyamines in mitochondrial metabolic regulationBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1979