Abstract
Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) is a traditional Andean crop with great potential for various sanitarian and medical functions, which is attracting increased research attention. The majority of previous Maca studies were focused on biochemistry and pharmacodynamics, while the genetic basis of its unique characteristics lagged due to a lack of genome information. The authors perform gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis in the hypocotyls of three Maca ecotypes and identify 79 compounds. Among them, 62 compounds have distinct profiles among Maca ecotypes. To reveal the underlying regulatory mechanism of the chemical composition differences, de novo transcriptome sequencing is performed and the transcription profiles of three Maca ecotypes are comparatively analyzed. Functional analysis indicates several key pathways, including “starch and sucrose metabolism,” “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis,” “phenylalanine metabolism” and “plant-pathogen interaction,” are involved in regulating the chemical compositions of Maca. Combining metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis indicates transcription factors such as MYB and WRKY and mediators such as protein kinase and bifunctional inhibitors might be critical regulators of chemical composition in Maca. The transcriptome reference genome and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) obtained in this study might serve as an initial step to illustrate the genetic differences in nutrient component, secondary metabolites content, medicinal function and stress resistance in Maca.
Highlights
Lepidium meyenii Walp., commonly known as Maca, belongs to the Brassicaceae family
Comparing the mass spectra of analyte peaks with those of commercial reference standard compounds identified a total of 79 metabolites (File A1)
The data were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the results showed that three Maca ecotypes could be clearly separated in the
Summary
Lepidium meyenii Walp., commonly known as Maca, belongs to the Brassicaceae family. It is a traditional Andean crop that grows at altitudes between 3500 and 4500 m above sea level, in the central region of Peru [1]. Maca is widely known as “Peruvian Ginseng,” and is prized for its nutrient component specificity, which gives it a long history of cultivation and consumption in. Since the 1980s, Maca has been recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as a “neglected crop” that could be used to address the problems in. During the 1990s, to meet the increasing market demand for Maca production, studies of Maca cultivation had been initiated in the United States, Germany, Japan, Australia and. For example, from 2001 to 2010 the exportation of Maca in Peru had increased from
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