Metabolomic insights of the tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivated under different supplemental LED lighting and mineral nutrient conditions

Abstract

Appropriate adjustment of various microclimatic and nutrient conditions can improve crop productivity under greenhouse cultivation. Here, we performed non-targeted profiling to investigate metabolite variation in tomato fruits following different supplementary LED lighting (SL) (red: R; blue: B; and a combination of red and blue light: RB, for 1 h/day and 6 h/day per condition) and mineral nutrient supply (N, K, Mg). The different SL treatments affected metabolite variation in tomato fruits more significantly than mineral nutrients. Importantly, regulating the SL period induced a more distinct metabolite composition in tomato fruits than that induced by varying the SL sources. Tomato fruits cultivated under RB for 6 h/day had a relatively higher content of sugar derivatives, especially sucrose, thus influencing the gustatory characteristics of the fruit. In contrast, fruit from tomatoes cultivated under RB for 1 h/day showed a distinctive increase in the abundance of amino acids, organic acids, and several secondary metabolites, adding to its nutritional quality. Intriguingly, the different mineral supplements elicited discriminant metabolic variation in tomato fruits cultivated under reduced levels of mineral supply; however, the effects were insignificant under enhanced levels of mineral supply. Specifically, reduced level in nitrogen supply resulted in a lower abundance of amino acids, whereas reduced level in potassium supply increased metabolite levels including amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids in tomato fruits. In the present study, we employed a non-targeted metabolomics approach to unravel the effects of microclimatic parameters and mineral nutrients on fruit quality parameters of tomato plants, by which regulating the period of SL and reducing the potassium concentration were suggested to improve different nutritional qualities.