Metabolite profiling of a high protein fast neutron soybean mutant revealed increased storage of methionine and flavonoids

Authors: Islam, Nazrul - Naz; Krishnan, Hari; JONES, JANICE - Metabolon, Inc; Natarajan, Savithiry - Savi

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2023
Publication Date: 12/6/2023
Citation: Islam, N., Krishnan, H.B., Jones, J., Natarajan, S.S. 2023. Metabolite profiling of a high protein fast neutron soybean mutant revealed increased storage of methionine and flavonoids. Crop Science. 64(1):303-313. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21110.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21110

Interpretive Summary: The seed composition in soybean depends upon the metabolites produced in the leaves and their accumulation in the mature seed. Currently, we lack in-depth knowledge about the synthesis and accumulation of key metabolites in soybean seeds. In the present study, we have investigated the content of metabolites in seed of a fast neutron radiatiated mutant using several high throughput metabolic techniques. We found a significant increase of several sulfur containing metabolites such as S-methymethionine, methionine, and cysteine in the mutant. In addition, a significant increase in several secondary metabolites including cosmosiin and apigenin with potential use in the therapeutics industry were also found in the mutant seeds. The results of our study provide a better understanding of the synthesis and accumulation of metabolites, including amino acids, in soybean. This information will help breeders, geneticists, and plant physiologists to alter metabolic pathways for improving desired soybean traits.

Technical Abstract: In this study, we used mass spectrometry (MS) based techniques to assess the metabolic profile of fast neutron radiated soybean seeds that had higher protein content. This mutant exhibited several gene duplications. The metabolic profiling of soybean seeds identified 630 metabolites, of which 95 exhibited increased abundance and 127 decreased abundance in the mutant. The duplication of genes resulted in an increase in several sulfur-containing metabolites, such as S-methymethionine, methionine, and cysteine. Additionally, several secondary metabolites such as cosmosiin and apigenin increased significantly. The integration of metabolomics and genomic data on the global metabolic pathways revealed several duplicated genes on glycolytic, aspartate, and methionine metabolic pathways that might have contributed to the increased S-metabolites in the seeds. The cascade effect of gene duplication discovered by metabolic profiling along with information gleaned from genomics can be used to produce functional seed traits for soybean that add value to the soybean.