Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1530673
This article is part of the Research Topic Metabolomics in Crop Research – Current and Emerging Methodologies, Volume III View all 12 articles

`Joint Analysis of Transcriptional Metabolism for Flavonoid Synthesis During Different Developmental Periods In Oil Palm Exocarp

Provisionally accepted
Ruimin Zhang Ruimin Zhang 1Jerome Jeyakumar John Martin Jerome Jeyakumar John Martin 2Xiaoyu Liu Xiaoyu Liu 2Xinyu Li Xinyu Li 2Lixia Zhou Lixia Zhou 2Rui Li Rui Li 2Xiaopeng FU Xiaopeng FU 2Wenrao Li Wenrao Li 3Hongxing Cao Hongxing Cao 2*
  • 1 College of Horticulture and Forestry, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 2 Coconut Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, China
  • 3 School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    To identify candidate genes for breeding oil palm varieties with high flavonoid content through molecular biotechnology, this study analyzed the metabolomes and transcriptomes of oil palm exocarp at different developmental stages using LC-MS/MS and RNA-Seq techniques. The green fruiting type (FS) oil palm exocarp at 95 days (FS1), 125 days (FS2), and 185 days (FS3) after pollination served as the materials. The enzyme genes F3H, CHS, ANS, and DFR were positively correlated with Quercetin-3-O-sambubioside. DFR also showed positive correlations with Afzelechin, Epiafzelechin, and Baimaside. In contrast, F3H, CHS, and ANS were negatively correlated with Hesperetin-7-O-glucoside. Additionally, CYP73A, UGT73C6, FG2-1, and FG2-2 were negatively correlated with Afzelechin, Epiafzelechin, Quercetin-3-O-sambubioside, and Baimaside, while CYP75A was negatively correlated with Epiafzelechin, Quercetin-3-O-sambubioside, and Baimaside.These results suggest that F3H, CHS, ANS, and DFR play a role in promoting Quercetin-3-O-sambubioside* synthesis, with DFR further enhancing the production of Afzelechin, Epiafzelechin, and Baimaside. On the other hand, F3H, CHS, and ANS may inhibit Hesperetin-7-O-glucoside synthesis. Meanwhile, CYP73A, UGT73C6, FG2-1, and FG2-2 appear to suppress the synthesis of multiple flavonoids, including Afzelechin, Epiafzelechin, Quercetin-3-O-sambubioside*, and Baimaside. Lastly, CYP75A is implicated in suppressing Epiafzelechin, Quercetin-3-O-sambubioside*, and Baimaside synthesis. These findings provide a foundation for future molecular breeding efforts targeting flavonoid-rich oil palm varieties.

    Keywords: Qil palm, Metabolomics, Transcriptomics, Flavonoids, Biosynthesis 2.Introduction

    Received: 19 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, John Martin, Liu, Li, Zhou, Li, FU, Li and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hongxing Cao, Coconut Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.