Large-Scale Non-Targeted Metabolomics Reveals Antioxidant, Nutraceutical and Therapeutic Potentials of Sorghum

Genetic biofortification: advancing crop nutrition to tackle hidden hunger

Malnutrition, often termed "hidden hunger," represents a pervasive global issue carrying significant implications for health, development, and socioeconomic conditions. Addressing the challenge of inadequate essential nutrients, despite sufficient caloric intake, is crucial. Biofortification emerges as a promising solution by enhance the presence of vital nutrients like iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin A in edible parts of different crop plants. Crop biofortification can be attained through either agronomic methods or genetic breeding techniques. Agronomic strategies for biofortification encompass the application of mineral fertilizers through foliar or soil methods, as well as leveraging microbe-mediated mechanisms to enhance nutrient uptake. On the other hand, genetic biofortification involves the strategic crossing of plants to achieve a desired combination of genes, promoting balanced nutrient uptake and bioavailability. Additionally, genetic biofortification encompasses innovative methods such as speed breeding, transgenic approaches, genome editing techniques, and integrated omics approaches. These diverse strategies collectively contribute to enhancing the nutritional profile of crops. This review highlights the above-said genetic biofortification strategies and it also covers the aspect of reduction in antinutritional components in food through genetic biofortification.

Non-Targeted Metabolomics Combined with Chemometrics by UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS and Antioxidant Activity of Atractylodes chinensis (DC.) Koidez. from Eight Origins

Atractylodes chinensis (DC.) Koidez. (AC) is a type of Atractylodis Rhizoma that is widely used in China to treat diarrhea and arthritis, as well as a nutritional supplement. The objective of this study was to investigate and identify the phytochemicals in the aqueous extract of AC using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-Orbitrap-HRMS platform based on a non-targeted metabolomic approach. There were 76 compounds in the AC, the majority of which were phenylpropanoids (16) and terpenoids (15). The hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed variations across eight AC samples and classified them into four groups. Using Pareto modeling, the orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) identified 11 distinct AC compounds. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of eight AC samples was assessed using ABTS, DPPH, and OH· methods. The AC samples with concentrations ranging from 0 to 25 mg/mL had no toxic effects on A549 cells. They have a strong therapeutic potential against oxidation-related diseases, and further research on AC is warranted.

Nutrient Metabolism Pathways Analysis and Key Candidate Genes Identification Corresponding to Cadmium Stress in Buckwheat through Multiomics Analysis

Fagopylum tatarium (L.) Gaertn (buckwheat) can be used both as medicine and food and is also an important food crop in barren areas and has great economic value. Exploring the molecular mechanisms of the response to cadmium (Cd) stress can provide the theoretical reference for improving the buckwheat yield and quality. In this study, perennial tartary buckwheat DK19 was used as the experimental material, its key metabolic pathways in the response to Cd stress were identified and verified through transcriptomic and metabolomic data analysis. In this investigation, 1798 metabolites were identified through non-targeted metabolomic analysis containing 1091 up-regulated and 984down-regulated metabolites after treatment. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of differential metabolites was significantly enriched in galactose metabolism, glycerol metabolism, phenylpropane biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism. Linkage analysis detected 11 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the galactose metabolism pathway, 8 candidate DEGs in the lipid metabolism pathway, and 20 candidate DEGs in the glutathione metabolism pathway. The results of our study provided useful clues for genetically improving the resistance to cadmium by analyzing the molecular mechanism of cadmium tolerance in buckwheat.

Integrated transcriptome and metabonomic analysis of key metabolic pathways in response to cadmium stress in novel buckwheat and cultivated species

INTRODUCTION

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum), an important food crop, also has medicinal uses. It is widely planted in Southwest China, overlapping with planting areas remarkably polluted by cadmium (Cd). Therefore, it is of great significance to study the response mechanism of buckwheat under Cd stress and further develop varieties with excellent Cd tolerance.

METHODS

In this study, two critical periods of Cd stress treatment (days 7 and 14 after Cd treatment) of cultivated buckwheat (Pinku-1, named K33) and perennial species (F. tatari-cymosum Q.F. Chen) (duoku, named DK19) were analyzed using transcriptome and metabolomics.

RESULTS

The results showed that Cd stress led to changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the chlorophyll system. Moreover, Cd-response genes related to stress response, amino acid metabolism, and ROS scavenging were enriched or activated in DK19. Transcriptome and metabolomic analyses highlighted the important role of galactose, lipid (glycerophosphatide metabolism and glycerophosphatide metabolism), and glutathione metabolism in response to Cd stress in buckwheat, which are significantly enriched at the gene and metabolic levels in DK19.

DISCUSSION

The results of the present study provide valuable information for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying Cd tolerance in buckwheat and useful clues for the genetic improvement of drought tolerance in buckwheat.

Widely targeted metabolome profiling of different plateau raspberries and berry parts provides innovative insight into their antioxidant activities

Raspberries are highly nutritious and have powerful antioxidant properties, making them functional berries with positive effects on physiological functioning. However, there is limited information available on the diversity and variability of metabolites in raspberry and its parts, especially in plateau raspberries. To address this, commercial raspberries and their pulp and seeds from two plateaus in China were subjected to LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics analysis and evaluated for antioxidant activity using four assays. A metabolite-metabolite correlation network was established based on antioxidant activity and correlation analysis. The results showed that 1661 metabolites were identified and classified into 12 categories, with significant variations in composition between the whole berry and its parts from different plateaus. Flavonoids, amino acids and their derivatives, and phenolic acids were found to be up-regulated in Qinghai's raspberry compared to Yunnan's raspberry. The main differently regulated pathways were related to flavonoid, amino acid, and anthocyanin biosynthesis. The antioxidant activity of Qinghai's raspberry was stronger than Yunnan's raspberry, and the order of antioxidant capacity was seed > pulp > berry. The highest FRAP (420.31 µM TE/g DW) values was found in the seed of Qinghai's raspberry. Overall, these findings suggest that the environment in which the berries grow can affect their chemical composition, and comprehensive exploitation and cultivation of whole raspberry and its parts from different plateaus can lead to new opportunities for phytochemical compositions and antioxidant activity.

Genetic and genomic interventions in crop biofortification: Examples in millets

Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious threat to the developing world's human population, which largely relies on a cereal-based diet that lacks diversity and micronutrients. Besides major cereals, millets represent the key sources of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals for people residing in the dryland tropics and drought-prone areas of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Millets serve as multi-purpose crops with several salient traits including tolerance to abiotic stresses, adaptation to diverse agro-ecologies, higher productivity in nutrient-poor soils, and rich nutritional characteristics. Considering the potential of millets in empowering smallholder farmers, adapting to changing climate, and transforming agrifood systems, the year 2023 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Millets. In this review, we highlight recent genetic and genomic innovations that can be explored to enhance grain micronutrient density in millets. We summarize the advances made in high-throughput phenotyping to accurately measure grain micronutrient content in cereals. We shed light on genetic diversity in millet germplasm collections existing globally that can be exploited for developing nutrient-dense and high-yielding varieties to address food and nutritional security. Furthermore, we describe the progress made in the fields of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and phenomics with an emphasis on enhancing the grain nutritional content for designing competitive biofortified varieties for the future. Considering the close genetic-relatedness within cereals, upcoming research should focus on identifying the genetic and genomic basis of nutritional traits in millets and introgressing them into major cereals through integrated omics approaches. Recent breakthroughs in the genome editing toolbox would be crucial for mainstreaming biofortification in millets.

The Key Metabolites in Rice Quality Formation of Conventional japonica Varieties

To understand differences in the quality of different conventional japonica rice varieties and variations in metabolites related to rice quality, the quality of three conventional japonica varieties was determined, and the metabolites of the milled rice were investigated using nontargeted metabolomics technology. The results showed that the taste value (TV) of Yangda 4Hao (YD4) was significantly higher than that of Yangda 3Hao (YD3) and Huaidao 5Hao (HD5). The protein content (PC) of HD5 was significantly higher than that of YD3 and YD4. PC was significantly negatively correlated with TV. Ninety-one differential metabolites (59 increased and 32 decreased) were identified between YD3 and HD5. A total of 144 differential metabolites (96 upregulated and 48 downregulated) were identified between YD4 and HD5. A total of 114 differential metabolites (40 increased and 74 decreased) were identified between YD3 and YD4. The metabolites with a high correlation to rice quality were mostly involved in the amino acid metabolism pathway. Amino acid metabolites play an important role in the formation of rice quality. The key metabolites in the synthesis and regulation of metabolic pathways are sucrose, levan, and amylose, which are carbohydrates, and L-glutamine, L-aspartic acid, and L-asparagine, which are amino acid metabolites. It can be seen from this study that the metabolites of sucrose, levan, amylose, L-glutamine, L-aspartic acid, and L-asparagine may be the key metabolites in the quality formation of high-quality rice varieties.

Metabolomics based inferences to unravel phenolic compound diversity in cereals and its implications for human gut health

Background

Scope and approach

Key findings and conclusion

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Phenolic compounds are critical in avoiding metabolic disorders associated with oxidative stress.

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Breeding cereal crops to enrich phenolic compounds in grains contributes to personalized nutrition.

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A diet rich in cereal phenolics likely to increase human gut health, thereby lowering the risk of non-communicable illness.

A Comparative Metabolomic Analysis Reveals the Nutritional and Therapeutic Potential of Grains of the Traditional Rice Variety Mappillai Samba

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food of the majority of the population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Enriching rice with nutritional and therapeutic contents can improve its benefits for patients with lifestyle disorders. This study aimed to profile the phytochemical contents of the therapeutically known traditional rice Mappillai Samba against white rice CBMAS 14065 using non-targeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). An analysis of the data using a mass spectrometry-data independent analysis (MS-DIAL) and MetaboAnalyst identified 113 metabolites belonging to 21 different classes of metabolites. A partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed 43 variable importance in projection (VIP) metabolites. This study identified therapeutically important metabolites, including phenylpropanoids, phytosterols, flavonoids, and polyamines, in the grains of Mappillai Samba. Three significant metabolic pathways, viz., phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis, and steroid biosynthesis, were responsible for the grain metabolome variation between CBMAS 14065 and Mappillai Samba. Overall, the results of this study unravelled the biochemical complexity of Mappillai Samba, paving the way for the genetic mapping of the therapeutic compound accumulation in rice and the development of similar therapeutic rice varieties through molecular breeding.