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Transcriptional profiling of genes involved in ascorbic acid biosynthesis, recycling, and degradation during three leaf developmental stages in celery

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Abstract

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is an important nutrient in the human body and performs various healthy functions. With considerable medicinal properties, celery (Apium graveolens L.) could be a good source of AsA for human health. However, the biosynthetic, recycling, and degradation pathways of AsA in celery have yet to be characterized. To study the metabolic pathways involved in AsA, the genes involved in AsA biosynthesis, recycling, and degradation were isolated from celery, and their expression profiles and AsA levels were analyzed in the leaf blades and petioles of two celery varieties at three different growth stages. AsA levels were higher in ‘Ventura’ compared with ‘Liuhehuangxinqin’ in both tissues possibly because of different transcription levels of genes, such as l-galactose dehydrogenase (GalDH), l-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH), and glutathione reductase (GR). Results revealed that the d-mannose/l-galactose pathway may be the predominant pathway in celery, and the d-galacturonic acid pathway appeared to contribute largely to AsA accumulation in petioles than in leaf blades in ‘Liuhehuangxinqin.’ AsA contents are regulated by complex regulatory mechanisms and vary at different growth stages, tissues, and varieties in celery. The results provide novel insights into AsA metabolic pathways in leaf during celery growth and development.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

AsA:

Ascorbic acid

AO:

Ascorbate oxidase

DHAR:

Dehydroascorbate reductase

d-Man:

d-Mannose

EtOH:

Ethyl alcohol

GalDH:

l-Galactose dehydrogenase

GalLDH:

l-Galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase

GalUR:

d-Galacturonate reductase

GGP:

GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase

GME:

GDP-d-mannose-3′,5′-epimerase

GMP:

GDP-d-mannose pyrophosphorylase

GPP:

l-Galactose-1-P phosphatase

GR:

Glutathione reductase

l-Gal:

l-Galactose

MDHAR:

Monodehydroascorbate reductase

MIOX:

Myo-inositol oxygenase

PGI:

Phosphoglucose isomerase

PMI:

Phosphomannose isomerase

PMM:

Phosphomannose mutase

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction

TCA:

Trichloroacetic acid

T-AsA:

Total ascorbic acid

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation (BK20130027), Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), and Shanxi Province Coal Based Key Scientific and Technological Project (FT201402-07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Wei Huang, Guang-Long Wang, Hui Li, Feng Wang, Zhi-Sheng Xu & Ai-Sheng Xiong

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  1. Wei Huang
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  2. Guang-Long Wang
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  3. Hui Li
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  4. Feng Wang
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  5. Zhi-Sheng Xu
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Correspondence to Ai-Sheng Xiong.

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Communicated by S. Hohmann.

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Huang, W., Wang, GL., Li, H. et al. Transcriptional profiling of genes involved in ascorbic acid biosynthesis, recycling, and degradation during three leaf developmental stages in celery. Mol Genet Genomics 291, 2131–2143 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-016-1247-3

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