title: Metabolism and development - integration of micro computed tomography data and metabolite profiling reveals metabolic reprogramming from floral initiation to silique development.
abstract: The interrelationship of morphogenesis and metabolism is a poorly studied phenomenon. The main paradigm is that development is controlled by gene expression. The aim of the present study was to correlate metabolism to early and late stages of flower and fruit development in order to provide the basis for the identification of metabolic adjustment and limitations. A highly detailed picture of morphogenesis is achieved using nondestructive micro computed tomography. This technique was used to quantify morphometric parameters of early and late flower development in an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant with synchronized flower initiation. The synchronized flower phenotype made it possible to sample enough early floral tissue otherwise not accessible for metabolomic analysis. The integration of metabolomic and morphometric data enabled the correlation of metabolic signatures with the process of flower morphogenesis. These signatures changed significantly during development, indicating a pronounced metabolic reprogramming in the tissue. Distinct sets of metabolites involved in these processes were identified and were linked to the findings of previous gene expression studies of flower development. High correlations with basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors and nitrogen metabolism genes involved in the control of metabolic carbon : nitrogen partitioning were revealed. Based on these observations a model for metabolic adjustment during flower development is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Functional Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellaire
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ischebeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Functional Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Staedler
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Weinhaeuser
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.affiliation: Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Sriram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parameswaran
authors.affiliation: Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Functional Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schönenberger
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weckwerth
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors; flower development; metabolomics; morphometry; multivariate statistics; ontogenetic trajectory; sucrose sensing