Widely Targeted Metabolomics Analysis Reveals the Effect of Flooding Stress on the Synthesis of Flavonoids in Chrysanthemum morifolium

Tao Wang,Liwei Wu,Wenyan Zhang,Qingjun Zou,Feng Yang,Qiaosheng Guo

doi:10.3390/molecules24203695

Abstract

Chrysanthemum morifolium. cv “Hangju” is an important medicinal material with many functions in China. Flavonoids as the main secondary metabolites are a major class of medicinal components in “Hangju” and its composition and content can change significantly after flooding. This study mimicked the flooding stress of “Hangju” during flower bud differentiation and detected its metabolites in different growth stages. From widely targeted metabolomics data, 661 metabolites were detected, of which 46 differential metabolites exist simultaneously in the different growth stages of “Hangju”. The top three types of the 46 differential metabolites were flavone C-glycosides, flavonol and flavone. Our results demonstrated that the accumulation of flavonoids in different growth stages of “Hangju” was different; however, quercetin, eriodictyol and most of the flavone C-glycosides were significantly enhanced in the two stages after flooding stress. The expression of key enzyme genes in the flavonoid synthesis pathway were determined using RT-qPCR, which verified the consistency of the expression levels of CHI, F3H, DFR and ANS with the content of the corresponding flavonoids. A regulatory network of flavonoid biosynthesis was established to illustrate that flooding stress can change the accumulation of flavonoids by affecting the expression of the corresponding key enzymes in the flavonoid synthesis pathway.

Highlights

Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. is one of the most important multi-purpose crops with ornamental value, medicinal value and edible value [1,2,3]
The results showed that the pathway with the largest number of differential metabolites was biosynthesis of secondary metabolites both in the bud stage (BS) and flower bloom stage (FBS) stages (Figure 3E,F)
One study compared the metabolite differences between two sesame seeds using widely targeted metabolomics and screened biomarkers that significantly related to the functions described in Chinese medicine [34]

Summary

Introduction

Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. is one of the most important multi-purpose crops with ornamental value, medicinal value and edible value [1,2,3]. Dried capitulum of C. morifolium, Chrysanthemi Flos, is an important medicinal material in China, Japan, Korea and other countries in East Asia [4], which is effective for anemopyretic colds, headaches, and dim-sighted eyes [5]. Based on growing regions and processing methods, the main domestic varieties of medicinal C. morifolium are divided into “Hangju”, “Boju”, “Qiju”, “Gongju”,. “Jiju”, “Chuju”, “Huaiju” and “Chuanju” [11,12] of which the “Hangju” type is found in the most cultivated areas and has the highest yield It is believed that the “Hangju” from the origin (Tongxiang County, Zhejiang Province, China) is considered to be a top-geoherb. As the demand for “Hangju” soared, the cultivated areas were greatly expanded from the origin The top-geoherbs used in China are prized for their high qualities and are grown in specified areas with specific environments [13].

Methods

Results

Conclusion