Abstract
Environmental conditions influence specialized plant metabolism. However, many studies aiming to understand these modulations have been conducted with model plants and/or under controlled conditions, thus not reflecting the complex interaction between plants and environment. To fully grasp these interactions, we investigated the specialized metabolism and genetic diversity of a native plant in its natural environment. We chose Myrcia bella due to its medicinal interest and occurrence in Brazilian savanna regions with diverse climate and soil conditions. An LC-HRMS-based metabolomics approach was applied to analyze 271 samples harvested across seven regions during the dry and rainy season. Genetic diversity was assessed in a subset of 40 samples using amplified fragment length polymorphism. Meteorological factors including rainfall, temperature, radiation, humidity, and soil nutrient and mineral composition were recorded in each region and correlated with chemical variation through multivariate analysis (MVDA). Marker compounds were selected using a statistically informed molecular network and annotated by dereplication against an in silico database of natural products. The integrated results evidenced different chemotypes, with variation in flavonoid and tannin content mainly linked to soil conditions. Different levels of genetic diversity and distance of populations were found to be correlated with the identified chemotypes. These observations and the proposed analytical workflow contribute to the global understanding of the impact of abiotic factors and genotype on the accumulation of given metabolites and, therefore, could be valuable to guide further medicinal exploration of native species.
Highlights
IntroductionIs an important and common plant native to the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado) [1]
Myrcia bella Cambess (Myrtaceae) is popularly known as “mercurinho”
The sampling plan implemented in this study allowed the collection of leaf samples from 271 specimens of Myrcia bella from seven different regions from the Brazilian savanna (Table 1) during both dry and rainy seasons over 24 months (Tables S1, S2, Figure S1)
Summary
Is an important and common plant native to the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado) [1]. In Brazil, populations of M. bella are widely distributed in different regions of the Cerrado Domain. Leaves of this plant are used in traditional medicine to treat gastrointestinal disorders and diabetes [2]. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated the cytotoxicity [2], antimicrobial [3], and antidiabetic [4] properties of the Molecules 2020, 25, 2954; doi:10.3390/molecules25122954 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules. Molecules 2020, 25, 2954 hydroalcoholic extracts of its leaves. In all these studies, phenolic compounds were related to bioactivity. Phytochemical studies of the leaves of M. bella have described several derivatives of
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