Metabolite profiling of yam (Dioscorea spp.) accessions for use in crop improvement programmes

Elliott J Price,Ranjana Bhattacharjee,Paul D Fraser,Antonio Lopez-Montes

doi:10.1007/s11306-017-1279-7

Abstract

IntroductionNinety-seven percent of yam (Dioscorea spp.) production takes place in low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) and the crop provides 200 calories a day to approximately 300 million people. Therefore, yams are vital for food security. Yams have high-yield potential and high market value potential yet current breeding of yam is hindered by a lack of genomic information and genetic resources. New tools are needed to modernise breeding strategies and unlock the potential of yam to improve livelihood in LIFDCs.ObjectivesMetabolomic screening has been undertaken on a diverse panel of Dioscorea accessions to assess the utility of the approach for advancing breeding strategies in this understudied crop.MethodsPolar and lipophilic extracts from tubers of accessions from the global yam breeding program have been comprehensively profiled via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.ResultsA visual pathway representation of the measured yam tuber metabolome has been delivered as a resource for biochemical evaluation of yam germplasm. Over 200 compounds were routinely measured in tubers, providing a major advance for the chemo-typing of this crop. Core biochemical redundancy concealed trends that were only elucidated following detailed mining of global metabolomics data. Combined analysis on leaf and tuber material identified a subset of metabolites which allow accurate species classification and highlighted the potential of predicting tuber composition from leaf profiles. Metabolic variation was accession-specific and often localised to compound classes, which will aid trait-targeting for metabolite markers.ConclusionsMetabolomics provides a standalone platform with potential to deliver near-future crop gains for yam. The approach compliments the genetic advancements currently underway and integration with other ‘–omics’ studies will deliver a significant advancement to yam breeding strategies.

Highlights

Ninety-seven percent of yam (Dioscorea spp.) production takes place in low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) and the crop provides 200 calories a day to approximately 300 million people
97% of production is from low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2015), with Western Africa accounting for over 90% of total production each year in this period
Unlike other root and tuber crops, yams may be stored for a period of 4–6 months at ambient temperature (Bricas and Attaie 1997; Knoth 1993) and as such, yams are vital for the food security of growing regions

Summary

Introduction

Ninety-seven percent of yam (Dioscorea spp.) production takes place in low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) and the crop provides 200 calories a day to approximately 300 million people. To date yams as a food source and cash crop have been understudied and underutilised (Mignouna et al 2009; Nkamleu et al 2009) This is surprising considering their high yield potential, high food and market values and numerous post-harvest options for storage and utilisation (Asiedu and Sartie 2010). These are all properties suited to the combating of food insecurity, achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the sustainable intensification of agriculture

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Conclusion