Phospholipid and fatty acid composition in leaves and roots of ten autumn chrysanthemum cultivars grown at low temperature

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cold hardiness and phospholipid and fatty acid content in leaves and roots of chrysanthemum, and to explore cold resistance mechanisms of chrysanthemum in order to provide a theoretical basis for selecting and breeding a new cold-resistant cultivar. We analyzed the phospholipid and fatty acid components in leaves and roots of 10 autumn chrysanthemum cultivars including six early-flowering cultivars and four late-flowering cultivars. We determined the content of phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE), phosphatidyl choline (PC), phosphatidyl serine (PS), phosphatidyl glycerol (PG), myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), docosanoic acid (C22:0), oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), and linolenic acid (C18:3) in leaves and roots of chrysanthemum seedlings grown at 16°C and 5°C. The cultivars had different responses to low temperature that included changes in the cell membrane composition in leaves and roots. The main phospholipid in leaves and roots of chrysanthemum was PE, and the main saturated fatty acid was palmitic acid. Among unsaturated fatty acids, linolenic acid was found in leaves, whereas oleic acid and linoleic acid were present in the roots. Based on the unsaturated fatty acid content and the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids in leaves, the early-flowering cultivars ‘Tan Xiang Shi Zi’ and ‘Tong Que Chun Shen’ and the late-flowering cultivars ‘Guan Dong Xin Xia’ and ‘Yun Long Feng Wu’ were classified as strongly cold tolerant, while the early-flowering cultivar ‘Jin Feng Ling’ and the late-flowering cultivar ‘Mo Bao’ were weakly cold tolerant.