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Metabolic profiling of photoautotrophic and photomixotrophic potato plantlets (Solanum tuberosum) provides new insights into acclimatization

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Abstract

Conventional photomixotrophic micropropagation systems are inefficient due to the high rates of mortality upon the transfer of plantlets from in vitro to ex vitro conditions. Exogenous medium sugar has been suggested to be the major cause of this problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of sucrose supply on the metabolic profile of in vitro-grown potato plantlets subjected to different tissue culture conditions consisting of Murashige and Skoog medium and without sucrose [photoautotrophic (PAT) condition] or with 3% sucrose [photomixotrophic (PMT) condition]. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we identified a set of 51 different metabolites in leaf tissues during the rooting phase. Most growth parameters, such as shoot length, leaf fresh weight, leaf number, and leaf area/plant, were significantly lower under PMT than under PAT conditions. Moreover, photosynthesis was inhibited due to partial stomatal closure under PMT conditions. The metabolomic profiles along with principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that the two treatments were characterized by distinct metabolic signatures. PAT leaves were characterized by the accumulation of urea and erythritol. In comparison, PMT leaves were characterized by the accumulation of metabolites belonging to the primary metabolism and catecholamines as well as compounds related to abiotic stress conditions, such as proline, hydroxyproline, asparagine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), soluble sugars, and myo-inositol.

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Abbreviations

HCA:

Hierarchical cluster analysis

GC–MS:

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

MS:

Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium

PAT:

Photoautotrophic

PCA:

Principal component analysis

PMT:

Photomixotrophic

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Egyptian Higher Education and its Missions General Administration for their financial assistance. We wish to thank NSERC discovery grant program for its financial support to Dr. Yves Desjardins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Phytologie, Centre de Recherche en Horticulture, Université Laval, 2480 Boulevard Hochelaga, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Ashraf Badr & Yves Desjardins

  2. Département des Sciences des Aliments et de Nutrition, Université Laval, Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Quebec, QC, G1K 7P4, Canada

    Paul Angers

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  1. Ashraf Badr
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  2. Paul Angers
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  3. Yves Desjardins
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Correspondence to Ashraf Badr.

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Badr, A., Angers, P. & Desjardins, Y. Metabolic profiling of photoautotrophic and photomixotrophic potato plantlets (Solanum tuberosum) provides new insights into acclimatization. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 107, 13–24 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-011-9951-5

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