Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Analysis Provides Insight into Leaf Color and Photosynthesis Variation of the Yellow-Green Leaf Mutant of Hami Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.)
Hongwei Han,
Yuan Zhou,
Huifang Liu,
Xianjun Chen,
Qiang Wang,
Hongmei Zhuang,
Xiaoxia Sun,
Qihua Ling,
Huijun Zhang,
Baike Wang,
Juan Wang,
Yaping Tang,
Hao Wang,
Huiying Liu
Affiliations
Hongwei Han
Key Laboratory of Special Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Yuan Zhou
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Huifang Liu
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Xianjun Chen
Key Laboratory of Special Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Qiang Wang
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Hongmei Zhuang
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Xiaoxia Sun
Key Laboratory of Special Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Qihua Ling
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
Huijun Zhang
School of Life Science, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China
Baike Wang
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Juan Wang
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Yaping Tang
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Hao Wang
Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang, Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830002, China
Huiying Liu
Key Laboratory of Special Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Leaf color mutants are ideal materials for studying the regulatory mechanism of chloroplast development and photosynthesis. We isolated a cucumis melo spontaneous mutant (MT), which showed yellow-green leaf phenotype in the whole growing period and could be inherited stably. We compared its leaves with the wild type (WT) in terms of cytology, physiology, transcriptome and metabolism. The results showed that the thylakoid grana lamellae of MT were loosely arranged and fewer in number than WT. Physiological experiments also showed that MT had less chlorophyll content and more accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) than WT. Furthermore, the activity of several key enzymes in C4 photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathway was more enhanced in MT than WT. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses showed that differential expression genes and differentially accumulated metabolites in MT were mainly co-enriched in the pathways related to photosystem-antenna proteins, central carbon metabolism, glutathione metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and flavonoid metabolism. We also analyzed several key proteins in photosynthesis and chloroplast transport by Western blot. In summary, the results may provide a new insight into the understanding of how plants respond to the impaired photosynthesis by regulating chloroplast development and photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathways.
