Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #255656
Title: Integrative transcript and metabolite analysis of DE-ETIOLATED1 down-regulated tomato fruit reveals the underlying metabolic and cellular events associated with their nutritionally enhanced chemotype

Author
item ENFISSI, EUGENIA - University Of London
item BARNECHE, FREDY - Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique
item AHMED, IKHLAK - Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique
item LICHTLE, CHRISTIANE - Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique
item Giovannoni, James
item BOWLER, CHRIS - Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique
item BRAMLEY, PETER - University Of London
item FRASER, PAUL - University Of London

Submitted to: The Plant Cell
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/6/2010
Publication Date: 4/30/2010
Citation: Enfissi, E., Barneche, F., Ahmed, I., Lichtle, C., Giovannoni, J.J., Bowler, C., Bramley, P., Fraser, P. 2010. Integrative transcript and metabolite analysis of DE-ETIOLATED1 down-regulated tomato fruit reveals the underlying metabolic and cellular events associated with their nutritionally enhanced chemotype. The Plant Cell. 22:1190-1215.

Interpretive Summary: Repression of the DE-ETIOLATED1 (DET1) gene product results in tomato fruits containing enhanced nutritional antioxidants, with no detrimental effects on yield. In an attempt to further our understanding of how modulation of this gene leads to improved quality traits, detailed targeted and multi-level characterization has been carried out. Metabolite profiling revealed quantitative increases in carotenoid, tocopherol, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and anthocyanidins. Qualitative differences could also be identified within the phenolics including unique formation in fruit tissues. These changes resulted in increased total antioxidant content of the fruit and suggest a molecular strategy toward enhancing fruit quality.

Technical Abstract: Fruit-specific down regulation of the DE-ETIOLATED1 (DET1) gene product results in tomato fruits containing enhanced nutritional antioxidants, with no detrimental effects on yield. Metabolite profiling revealed quantitative increases in carotenoid, tocopherol, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and anthocyanidins. Qualitative differences could also be identified within the phenolics including unique formation in fruit tissues. These changes resulted in increased total antioxidant content of the fruit. Increased transcription of key biosynthetic genes is a likely mechanism producing elevated phenolic-based metabolites. By contrast, high levels of isoprenoids do not appear to result from transcriptional control but are more likely related to plastid-based parameters such as increased plastid area per cell. Parallel metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal the widespread effects of DET1 down-regulation on diverse sectors of metabolism and sites of synthesis. Correlation analysis of transcripts and metabolites independently indicated strong co-responses within and between related pathways/processes. Interestingly, despite the fact that secondary metabolites were the most severely affected in ripe tomato fruit, our integrative analyses suggest that the coordinated activation of core metabolic processes in cell types amenable to plastid biogenesis is the core process affected by DET1 loss-of-function.