He Yonghui, Zhu Yingjie, Jiang Guangxuan, Xu Mingyue, Liu Huanhuan, Zhang Xuecai, Yin Zhitong
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding/Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
Foods. 2024 Dec 22;13(24):4157. doi: 10.3390/foods13244157.
The understanding of the characteristics and metabolite changes in waxy and normal maize kernels after cooking is rather limited. This study was designed to meticulously analyze the differences in characteristics and metabolites of these kernels before and after steaming. To cut environmental impacts, samples were obtained by pollinating one ear with mixed pollen. Non-targeted metabolomics was used to analyze metabolites comprehensively. The results demonstrated that a total of 4043 annotated metabolites were identified. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated distinct variances between kernels before and after steaming and between the two maize types. Steaming led to an increase in differential metabolites (DEMs) for both maize varieties, noticeably in waxy maize. In waxy maize, the down-regulated DEMs were associated with lipid metabolism, while the up-regulated ones were related to amino acid, phenylpropanoid, and flavone metabolism. Compared to steamed normal maize kernels, waxy maize had more DEMs in purine and steroid pathways, fewer in fatty acid, α-linolenic acid, and phenylpropanoid ones, with marked differences in secondary metabolites like those in amino acid metabolism. This study offers a vital foundation and direction for future research on metabolic pathways regarding maize quality improvement and flavor regulation.
目前对于蒸煮后糯玉米和普通玉米籽粒的特性及代谢物变化的了解相当有限。本研究旨在细致分析这些籽粒在蒸煮前后特性和代谢物的差异。为减少环境影响，通过用混合花粉对一个玉米穗授粉来获取样本。采用非靶向代谢组学全面分析代谢物。结果表明，共鉴定出4043种注释代谢物。主成分分析（PCA）表明，蒸煮前后的籽粒以及两种玉米类型之间存在明显差异。蒸煮导致两个玉米品种的差异代谢物（DEM）增加，在糯玉米中尤为明显。在糯玉米中，下调的DEM与脂质代谢相关，而上调的DEM与氨基酸、苯丙烷和黄酮代谢有关。与蒸煮后的普通玉米籽粒相比，糯玉米在嘌呤和类固醇途径中的DEM更多，在脂肪酸、α-亚麻酸和苯丙烷途径中的DEM更少，在氨基酸代谢等次生代谢物方面存在显著差异。本研究为未来关于玉米品质改良和风味调控的代谢途径研究提供了重要基础和方向。
