title: Carrot-specific features of the phenylpropanoid pathway identified by feeding cultured cells with defined intermediates.
abstract: Plants produce a vast array of secondary metabolites, many of which have important biological properties in animals when consumed as part of the diet. Interestingly, although the activities and benefits of plant secondary metabolites in animals are well established, comparatively little is known about the endogenous functions of these compounds in plants. One way to investigate the role of secondary products in plants is to modify the secondary metabolome and investigate the impact of such modifications on the phenotype. We have designed a novel feeding approach using different hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) and the cyanidin precursor dihydroquercetin (DHQ) to modify the metabolome of carrot R3M suspension cells. This strategy increased the accumulation of specific metabolites in a predictable way, and provided novel insights into the carrot phenylpropanoid pathway, suggesting that (a) cells use HCA hexose esters as substrates in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the accumulation of the various HCA derivatives and (b) p-coumaric acid derivative levels play a key roles in the regulation the flux of HCAs along the pathway. Moreover, this rapid strategy for metabolome modification does not depend on the availability of molecular tools or knowledge and can therefore be applied to any plant species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Ketti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toffali
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ceoldo
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stocchero
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guzzo
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000378:metabolism*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D018552:Daucus carota / Q000378:metabolism*; D055442:Metabolome; D010641:Phenotype; D020005:Propanols / Q000378:metabolism*; D011422:Propionates; D064210:Secondary Metabolism
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D020005:Propanols; D011422:Propionates; C439395:1-phenylpropanol; C017154:cyanidin; C495469:p-coumaric acid