title: Metabolic Profiling of Developing Pear Fruits Reveals Dynamic Variation in Primary and Secondary Metabolites, Including Plant Hormones.
abstract: Metabolites in the fruits of edible plants include sweet sugars, visually appealing pigments, various products with human nutritional value, and biologically active plant hormones. Although quantities of these metabolites vary during fruit development and ripening because of cell division and enlargement, there are few reports describing the actual dynamics of these changes. Therefore, we applied multiple metabolomic techniques to identify the changes in metabolite levels during the development and ripening of pear fruits (Pyrus communis L. 'La France'). We quantified and classified over 250 metabolites into six groups depending on their specific patterns of variation during development and ripening. Approximately half the total number of metabolites, including histidine and malate, accumulated transiently around the blooming period, during which cells are actively dividing, and then decreased either rapidly or slowly. Furthermore, the amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids also increased in pear fruits around 3-4 months after the blooming period, when fruit cells are enlarging, but virtually disappeared from ripened fruits. Some metabolites, including the plant hormone abscisic acid, accumulated particularly in the receptacle prior to blooming and/or fruit ripening. Our results show several patterns of variation in metabolite levels in developing and ripening pear fruits, and provide fundamental metabolomic data that is useful for understanding pear fruit physiology and enhancing the nutritional traits of new cultivars.
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, 997-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oikawa
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan.
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jikumaru
authors.affiliation: Yamagata Integrated Agricultural Research Center, Sagae, 999-7601, Japan.
authors.forename: Kanji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isuzugawa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, 997-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan; Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8675, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiratake
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D019343:Citric Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D031989:Pyrus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D064210:Secondary Metabolism; D013213:Starch / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D019343:Citric Acid; D013213:Starch