Comparison of carbohydrate partitioning and expression patterns of some genes involved in carbohydrate biosynthesis pathways in annual and biennial species of Cichorium spp

• Published in: Phytochemistry (Oxford) 2021-03, Vol.183, p.112620-112620, Article 112620
• Main Authors: Mohammadi, Fatemeh, Naghavi, Mohammad Reza, Peighambari, Seyed Ali, Dehaghi, Nafiseh Khosravi, Nasiri, Jaber, Khaldari, Iman, Bravi, Elisabetta, Sileoni, Valeria, Marconi, Ombretta, Perretti, Giuseppe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asteraceae; Asteraceae - genetics; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Carbohydrates; Cichorium endive; Cichorium intybus; Cichorium intybus - genetics; Fructan; Fructans; Gene expression
• ISSN: 0031-9422; 1873-3700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2020.112620

Variation in metabolism and partitioning of carbohydrates, particularly fructans, between annual and perennial Cichorium species remains a challenging topic. To address this problem, an annual (endive, Cichorium endive L. var. Crispum; Asteraceae) and a biennial species (chicory, Cichorium intybus L. var. Witloof; Asteraceae) were compared with in terms of variability in carbohydrate accumulation and expression patterns of fructan-active enzyme genes, as well as sucrose metabolism at various growth and developmental stages. In general, constituents such as 1-kestose, nystose, and inulin were detected only in the root of chicory and were not present in any of the endive tissues. For both species, flower tissue contained maximum levels of both fructose and glucose, while for sucrose, more fluctuations were observed. On the other hand, all the genes under study exhibited variation, not only between the two species but also among different tissues at different sampling times. In endive root compared to endive leaf, the expression of cell wall invertase genes and sucrose accumulation decreased simultaneously, indicating the limited capacity of its roots to absorb sucrose, a precursor to inulin production. In addition, low expression of fructan: fructan fructosyltransferase in endive root compared to chicory root confirmed the inability of endive to inulin synthesis. Overall, annual and biennial species were different in the production of inulin, transport, remobilization, and unloading of sucrose. Annual (endive) and biennial (chicory) species of genus Chicorium were evaluated with regard to metabolism, partitioning, and remobilization of sugars by measuring water-soluble carbohydrates and gene expression of certain related genes. [Display omitted] •Two species of the genus Cichorium spp. with different life cycle were compared.•Inulin was detected only in the roots of biennial species.•Annual and biennial species were different in transport and remobilization of sucrose.•The root of annual species had limited capacity for sucrose absorbing.