Integrated untargeted metabolome, full-length sequencing, and transcriptome analyses reveal insights into the fruit quality at different harvest times of Chaenomeles speciosa

• Published in: Food research international 2023-02, Vol.164, p.112314-112314, Article 112314
• Main Authors: Fang, Qingying, Zheng, Han, Fu, Guosheng, Yin, Minzhen, Jiang, Lu, Zhao, Yujiao, Zha, Liangping, Chu, Shanshan, Peng, Huasheng, Huang, Luqi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids - analysis; Chaenomeles speciosa; Chinese traditional medicine; Different maturation; Fruit - chemistry; Fruit quality; Gene Expression Profiling; Metabolome; Optimal harvest time; Rosaceae - chemistry; Rosaceae - genetics; Transcriptome analyses; Untargeted metabolome
• ISSN: 0963-9969; 1873-7145
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112314

[Display omitted] •We proposed optimal harvesting strategies for edible and medicinal purpose of Chaenomeles speciosa fruit.•The metabolism and gene expression pattern of Chaenomeles speciosa fruit was investigated during maturation.•Further identified putative key enzymes involved in quality-associated primary and secondary metabolites biosynthesis.•Our findings laid the foundation for the further investigations of the potential regulatory mechanisms in harvest times, and provided a new possibility for the development and utilization in products. Chaenomeles speciosa fruit is a homologous medicine and food plant with a long history of multiple uses. It could be harvested near maturity and last for a long time. However, the optimal harvest strategy of Chaenomeles speciosa for various uses is currently unavailable. Here, untargeted metabolome at different harvest times during maturation was investigated for the first time, and 896 metabolites, including sugars, organic acids, amino acids, and phenylpropanoids, were identified. Optimal harvesting methods were proposed for different purposes. During the early maturation stages (before 105 days after full bloom), Ch. speciosa fruit could be harvested as Chinesemedicine. Whereas as snacks and food, Ch. speciosa fruit might be harvested at late maturity (after 120 days after full bloom). In addition, the overall network was revealed by integrating full-length Iso-seq and transcriptomics (RNA-seq) to investigate the association between quality-associated metabolites and Chaenomeles speciosa fruit gene expression during maturation. A few putative genes were captured via screening, dissecting and correlation analysis with the quality-associated metabolites (including d-glucose, catechin, gallocatechin, and succinic acid). Overall, in addition to providing a harvesting strategy for food and medicine, we also investigated the metabolism and gene expression pattern of Chaenomeles speciosa fruit during maturation. This comprehensive data and analyses laid the foundation for further investigating potential regulatory mechanisms during harvest and provided a new possibility for its development and utilization.