Metabolic responses of rice leaves and seeds under transgenic backcross breeding and pesticide stress by pseudotargeted metabolomics

Abstract

Pesticide and anti-insect gene are two effective strategies to prevent insects from seriously influencing the growth and production of crops in agroecosystem. Few investigators have yet concerned the metabolic responses of different plant tissues to pesticide treatment and transgene with backcross breeding. In this study, the metabolic variations in samples of rice leaf and seed induced by transgenic backcross breeding and pesticide stress were investigated by a pseudotargeted metabolomics method based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The results showed transgenic backcross breeding caused diverse metabolic changes for rice leaf and seed. Higher abundances of a wide range of carbohydrates, antioxidants and phenols were observed in transgenic backcross breeding leaves, while some amino acids and carbohydrates in rice seeds were down-regulated after transgenic backcross breeding. Moreover, the defense responses of rice leaves to pesticide stress were tightly associated with transgenic backcross breeding. Defense system accompanied with the accumulations of phenols and antioxidants was rapidly activated in non-transgenic parent compared to transgenic backcross breeding leaves under pesticide stress.