Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration
<i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, a wild legume forage widely distributed in the Eurasian steppe, demonstrates high genetic and phenotypic variation. <i>M. ruthenica</i> with a purely yellow flower (YFM), differing from the general phenotype of <i>M. ruthenica</i> with a...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/18/2408 |
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| author | Lin Zhu Hongyan Li Zinian Wu Zhiyong Li Maowei Guo Bu Ning Wanpeng Liu Qian Liu Lei Liu Zhiyong Wang Jun Li Fugui Mi |
| author_facet | Lin Zhu Hongyan Li Zinian Wu Zhiyong Li Maowei Guo Bu Ning Wanpeng Liu Qian Liu Lei Liu Zhiyong Wang Jun Li Fugui Mi |
| author_sort | Lin Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, a wild legume forage widely distributed in the Eurasian steppe, demonstrates high genetic and phenotypic variation. <i>M. ruthenica</i> with a purely yellow flower (YFM), differing from the general phenotype of <i>M. ruthenica</i> with a purple flower (PFM), was recently discovered. The similar characteristics of YFM with <i>Medicago falcata</i> have led to conflicting opinions on its taxonomy using traditional morphological methods. The lack of chemotaxonomy information about <i>M. ruthenica</i> species and the unclear flower coloration mechanisms have hampered their study. Here, we investigated <i>M. ruthenica</i> using targeted metabolomics based on the chemotaxonomy method and elaborated the floral coloration mechanisms using transcriptomics. The identified flavonoids were the same types, but there were different contents in YFM and PFM, especially the contents of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), an anthocyanin that causes the purple-reddish color of flowers. The over-accumulation of C3G in PFM was 1,770 times more than YFM. Nineteen anthocyanin-related genes were downregulated in YFM compared with their expression in PFM. Thus, YFM could be defined as a variety of <i>M. ruthenica</i> rather than a different species. The loss of purple flower coloration in YFM was attributed to the downregulation of these genes, resulting in reduced C3G accumulation. The taxonomic characteristics and molecular and physiological characteristics of this species will contribute to further research on other species with similar external morphologies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:47:57Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:47:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3c25cf91c7f475f9e7285dd0b7e39802023-11-23T18:27:24ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-09-011118240810.3390/plants11182408Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral ColorationLin Zhu0Hongyan Li1Zinian Wu2Zhiyong Li3Maowei Guo4Bu Ning5Wanpeng Liu6Qian Liu7Lei Liu8Zhiyong Wang9Jun Li10Fugui Mi11College of Grassland and Resources Environment, Inner Mongolia Agriculture University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInner Mongolia Autonomous Region Forestry and Grassland Seedling General Station, Hohhot 010010, ChinaKey Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaCollege of Grassland and Resources Environment, Inner Mongolia Agriculture University, Hohhot 010010, China<i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, a wild legume forage widely distributed in the Eurasian steppe, demonstrates high genetic and phenotypic variation. <i>M. ruthenica</i> with a purely yellow flower (YFM), differing from the general phenotype of <i>M. ruthenica</i> with a purple flower (PFM), was recently discovered. The similar characteristics of YFM with <i>Medicago falcata</i> have led to conflicting opinions on its taxonomy using traditional morphological methods. The lack of chemotaxonomy information about <i>M. ruthenica</i> species and the unclear flower coloration mechanisms have hampered their study. Here, we investigated <i>M. ruthenica</i> using targeted metabolomics based on the chemotaxonomy method and elaborated the floral coloration mechanisms using transcriptomics. The identified flavonoids were the same types, but there were different contents in YFM and PFM, especially the contents of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), an anthocyanin that causes the purple-reddish color of flowers. The over-accumulation of C3G in PFM was 1,770 times more than YFM. Nineteen anthocyanin-related genes were downregulated in YFM compared with their expression in PFM. Thus, YFM could be defined as a variety of <i>M. ruthenica</i> rather than a different species. The loss of purple flower coloration in YFM was attributed to the downregulation of these genes, resulting in reduced C3G accumulation. The taxonomic characteristics and molecular and physiological characteristics of this species will contribute to further research on other species with similar external morphologies.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/18/2408<i>Medicago ruthenica</i>alfalfachemotaxonomyflavonoidsanthocyaninsgene expression |
| spellingShingle | Lin Zhu Hongyan Li Zinian Wu Zhiyong Li Maowei Guo Bu Ning Wanpeng Liu Qian Liu Lei Liu Zhiyong Wang Jun Li Fugui Mi Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration Plants <i>Medicago ruthenica</i> alfalfa chemotaxonomy flavonoids anthocyanins gene expression |
| title | Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration |
| title_full | Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration |
| title_fullStr | Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration |
| title_short | Targeted Metabolomics Provide Chemotaxonomic Insights of <i>Medicago ruthenica</i>, with Coupled Transcriptomics Elucidating the Mechanism Underlying Floral Coloration |
| title_sort | targeted metabolomics provide chemotaxonomic insights of i medicago ruthenica i with coupled transcriptomics elucidating the mechanism underlying floral coloration |
| topic | <i>Medicago ruthenica</i> alfalfa chemotaxonomy flavonoids anthocyanins gene expression |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/18/2408 |
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