Differential metabolites regulate the formation of chromatic aberration in Toona fargesii wood

Abstract

Radial chromatic aberration (∆E) in xylem is a significant phenotypic characteristic for distinguishing sapwood from heartwood. Investigating its relationship with metabolites is critical to the formation of color differences in wood. In this study, chromatic aberration of the inner heartwood (IH), outer heartwood (OH), transition zone (TZ), inner sapwood (IS), and outer sapwood (OS) were quantified utilizing the CIE color space system, and the secondary metabolite profiles of Toona fargesii wood were identified. The findings showed a radial variation in the wood color of T. fargesii. The chromatic aberration was largest in the OS vs. IH for 22.51 and smallest in OH vs. TZ for 4.92. A total of 646 metabolites from 8 categories were obtained from wood, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, terpenoids, et al. The OS vs. IH had the highest number of differential metabolites with 395, whereas the OH vs. TZ had the fewest differential metabolites with 184. The metabolites were mostly enriched in metabolic pathways and the biosynthesis of flavonoids. The 75 % metabolites in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were abundant in HW tissues and gradually decreased from IH to OS. There were 39 shared differential metabolites among six comparison groups, of which flavonoids accounted for 31 %. There were clear radial differences in the flavonoid metabolites, with a generally decreasing trend from IH to OS tissue. The relative content of the flavonoids exhibited negative and positive correlations with L* and a*, respectively. Especially the largest correlation coefficients for 93 % between 2-hydroxynaringenin, aromadendrin and L* showed their importance in chromatic aberration. This study demonstrated the radial variation pattern of chromatic aberration and metabolic profiles. It also identified the key metabolites that affect wood color in T. fargesii, which offered valuable insights into the formation of the chromatic aberration in wood.