Integrated transcriptome and metabonomic analysis of key metabolic pathways in response to cadmium stress in novel buckwheat and cultivated species

Dongao Huo; Ying Hao; Juan Zou; Lixia Qin; Chuangyun Wang; Dengxiang Du

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1142814

Integrated transcriptome and metabonomic analysis of key metabolic pathways in response to cadmium stress in novel buckwheat and cultivated species

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Mar 17:14:1142814. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1142814. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dongao Huo^{1

2}, Ying Hao¹, Juan Zou³, Lixia Qin⁴, Chuangyun Wang⁴, Dengxiang Du³

Affiliations

¹ Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.
² College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Taiyuan Normal University, Taiyuan, China.
³ School of Life Science and Technology, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, China.
⁴ College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum), an important food crop, also has medicinal uses. It is widely planted in Southwest China, overlapping with planting areas remarkably polluted by cadmium (Cd). Therefore, it is of great significance to study the response mechanism of buckwheat under Cd stress and further develop varieties with excellent Cd tolerance.

Methods: In this study, two critical periods of Cd stress treatment (days 7 and 14 after Cd treatment) of cultivated buckwheat (Pinku-1, named K33) and perennial species (F. tatari-cymosum Q.F. Chen) (duoku, named DK19) were analyzed using transcriptome and metabolomics.

Results: The results showed that Cd stress led to changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the chlorophyll system. Moreover, Cd-response genes related to stress response, amino acid metabolism, and ROS scavenging were enriched or activated in DK19. Transcriptome and metabolomic analyses highlighted the important role of galactose, lipid (glycerophosphatide metabolism and glycerophosphatide metabolism), and glutathione metabolism in response to Cd stress in buckwheat, which are significantly enriched at the gene and metabolic levels in DK19.

Discussion: The results of the present study provide valuable information for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying Cd tolerance in buckwheat and useful clues for the genetic improvement of drought tolerance in buckwheat.

Keywords: buckwheat; cadmium (Cd) stress; metabolome; reactive oxygen species (ROS); transcriptome.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFD1001300, 2019YFD1001303), the Critical Talent Workstation Project (TYSGJ202201), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31960415), the Academician Workstation Project (TYYSZ201707), the Research Program Sponsored by State Key Laboratory of Integrative Sustainable Dryland Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University 202105D121008-3-5), the Fundamental Research Project of Shanxi Province (Grant No. 20210302123381) and the Teaching Content and Curriculum System Reform Project of Higher Education Institutions in Guizhou Province (2019202, 2020035).