Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio, 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanìn 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
J Agric Food Chem. 2021 Jan 27;69(3):1132-1145. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c06533. Epub 2021 Jan 18.
To tackle the urgency of smarter crop management, the complex nature of agricultural ecosystems needs to be better understood, employing and combining different techniques and technologies. In this study, untargeted metabolomics and agro-meteorological survey were coupled to study the variation of (L.) Moench metabolome during crop development, in response to environmental and anthropic factors. Twelve crop fields in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, were monitored and sampled at different stages, seedling (Ss), advanced vegetative (Sv), and ripening (Sr), and subjected to H NMR-based metabolomics. The analytical method developed resulted to be successful to quickly analyze different sorghum organs. Dhurrin, a cyanogenic glucoside, resulted to be a biomarker of crop quality and development, and several insights into its turnover and functions were obtained. In particular, -glucosyloxy-2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid was identified, for the first time, as the main metabolite accumulated in sorghum at Sr, after gradual dhurrin neutralization. During plant life, fertilization and biotic and abiotic stress reflected peculiar metabolomic profiles. Water supply and soil features (, clay content) were correlated to metabolomic variations, affecting dhurrin (and related metabolites), amino acids, organic acids, and carbohydrate content. Increase in chlorogenic acid was registered in consequence of predator attacks. Moreover, grain from three fields presented traces of dhurrin and the lowest antioxidant potential, which resulted in poor grain quality. Metabolomics turned out to be a promising tool in view of smart agriculture for monitoring plant growth status and applying appropriate agricultural practices since the early stage of crop development.
为了解决更智能的作物管理的紧迫性，需要更好地了解农业生态系统的复杂性，采用和结合不同的技术和技术。在这项研究中，非靶向代谢组学和农业气象调查相结合，研究了（L.）Moench 代谢组在作物发育过程中的变化，以应对环境和人为因素。意大利艾米利亚-罗马涅地区的 12 个农田在不同阶段进行了监测和采样，包括幼苗（Ss）、高级营养生长（Sv）和成熟（Sr），并进行了基于 H NMR 的代谢组学分析。所开发的分析方法成功地用于快速分析不同的高粱器官。麻疯树毒素，一种氰基糖苷，是作物质量和发育的生物标志物，并获得了关于其转化和功能的一些见解。特别是，-葡萄糖氧基-2-羟基苯乙酸被鉴定为 Sr 期高粱中积累的主要代谢物，麻疯树毒素逐渐中和后。在植物生命过程中，施肥以及生物和非生物胁迫反映了特殊的代谢组学特征。供水和土壤特征（如，粘土含量）与代谢组学变化相关，影响麻疯树毒素（及其相关代谢物）、氨基酸、有机酸和碳水化合物含量。由于捕食者的攻击，绿原酸的含量增加。此外，三个农田的谷物有麻疯树毒素和最低抗氧化能力的痕迹，导致谷物质量差。鉴于智能农业，代谢组学有望成为监测植物生长状况和在作物发育早期应用适当农业实践的有前途的工具。
