Genomic and metabolomic insights into the selection and differentiation of bioactive compounds in citrus

• Published in: Molecular plant 2024-11, Vol.17 (11), p.1753-1772
• Main Authors: Liang, Xiao, Wang, Yue, Shen, Wanxia, Liao, Bin, Liu, Xiaojuan, Yang, Zimeng, Chen, Jiebiao, Zhao, Chenning, Liao, Zhenkun, Cao, Jinping, Wang, Ping, Wang, Peng, Ke, Fuzhi, Xu, Jianguo, Lin, Qiong, Xi, Wanpeng, Wang, Lishu, Xu, Juan, Zhao, Xiaochun, Sun, Chongde
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: bioactive compounds; citrus; Citrus - genetics; Citrus - metabolism; Coumarins - metabolism; Flavonoids - metabolism; Genome, Plant; genome-wide association study; Genomics; Metabolome; Metabolomics; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
• ISSN: 1674-2052; 1752-9867; 1752-9867
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2024.10.009

Bioactive compounds play an increasingly prominent role in breeding functional and nutritive fruit crops such as citrus. However, the genomic and metabolic bases for the selection and differentiation underlying bioactive compound variations in citrus remain poorly understood. In this study, we constructed a species-level variation atlas of genomes and metabolomes using 299 citrus accessions. A total of 19 829 significant SNPs were targeted to 653 annotated metabolites, among which multiple significant signals were identified for secondary metabolites, especially flavonoids. Significant differential accumulation of bioactive compounds in the phenylpropane pathway, mainly flavonoids and coumarins, was unveiled across ancestral citrus species during differentiation, which is likely associated with the divergent haplotype distribution and/or expression profiles of relevant genes, including p-coumaroyl coenzyme A 2′-hydroxylases, flavone synthases, cytochrome P450 enzymes, prenyltransferases, and uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferases. Moreover, we systematically evaluated the beneficial bioactivities such as the antioxidant and anticancer capacities of 219 citrus varieties, and identified robust associations between distinct bioactivities and specific metabolites. Collectively, these findings provide citrus breeding options for enrichment of beneficial flavonoids and avoidance of potential risk of coumarins. Our study will accelerate the application of genomic and metabolic engineering strategies in developing modern healthy citrus cultivars. This study performed resequencing and wide-targeted metabolomic analysis on 299 citrus accessions, revealing the genetic basis of differential selection of bioactive compounds in citrus population through selective sweep analysis and mGWAS. Combined with large-scale bioactivity evaluation, potential citrus varieties and metabolites related to specific biological activities were screened, and the variation route of bioactivities alongside the evolution of citrus population was clarified. This study provided new insights for the selection and utilization of citrus resources as well as breeding improvement.