High-Throughput LC-ESI-MS/MS Metabolomics Approach Reveals Regulation of Metabolites Related to Diverse Functions in Mature Fruit of Grafted Watermelon.

Ali Aslam, Shengjie Zhao, Xuqiang Lu, Nan He, Hongju Zhu, Aman Ullah Malik, Muhammad Azam, Wenge Liu

Biomolecules 2021 Apr 23

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Grafting has been reported as a factor regulating the metabolome of a plant. Therefore, a comprehensive metabolic profile and comparative analysis of metabolites were conducted from fully mature fruit of pumpkin-grafted watermelon (PGW) and a self-rooted watermelon (SRW). Widely targeted LC-ESI-MS/MS metabolomics approach facilitated the simultaneous identification and quantification of 339 metabolites across PGW and SRW. Regardless of grafting, delta-aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride, sucrose, mannose-6-phosphate (carbohydrates), homocystine, 2-phenylglycine, s-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (amino acids and derivatives), malic, azelaic, H-butanoic acid ethyl ester-hexoside isomer 1, (organic acids), MAG (18:3) isomer1, LysoPC 16:0, LysoPC 18:2 2n isomer (lipids) p-coumaric acid, piperidine, and salicylic acid-o-glycoside (secondary metabolites) were among the dominant metabolite. Dulcitol, mono-, and disaccharide sugars were higher in PGW, while polysaccharides showed complex behavior. In PGW, most aromatic and nitrogen-rich amino acids accumulated greater than 1.5- and 1-fold, respectively. Intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), stress-related metabolites, vitamin B5, and several flavonoids were significantly more abundant in PGW. Most lipids were also significantly higher in grafted watermelon. This is the first report providing a comprehensive picture of watermelon metabolic profile and changes induced by grafting. Hence, the untargeted high-throughput LC-ESI-MS/MS metabolomics approach could be suitable to provide significant differences in metabolite contents between grafted and ungrafted plants.

Citation

Ali Aslam, Shengjie Zhao, Xuqiang Lu, Nan He, Hongju Zhu, Aman Ullah Malik, Muhammad Azam, Wenge Liu. High-Throughput LC-ESI-MS/MS Metabolomics Approach Reveals Regulation of Metabolites Related to Diverse Functions in Mature Fruit of Grafted Watermelon. Biomolecules. 2021 Apr 23;11(5)