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An integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis of the Cucurbita pepo nectary implicates key modules of primary metabolism involved in nectar synthesis and secretion
Plant Direct
  • Erik M. Solhaug, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  • Rahul Roy, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  • Elizabeth C. Chatt, Iowa State University
  • Peter M. Klinkenberg, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  • Nur-Aziatull Mohd-Fadzil, Iowa State University
  • Marshall Hampton, University of Minnesota-Duluth
  • Basil J. Nikolau, Iowa State University
  • Clay J. Carter, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
2-1-2019
DOI
10.1002/pld3.120
Abstract

Nectar is the main reward that flowers offer to pollinators to entice repeated visitation. Cucurbita pepo (squash) is an excellent model for studying nectar biology, as it has large nectaries that produce large volumes of nectar relative to most other species. Squash is also monoecious, having both female and male flowers on the same plant, which allows comparative analyses of nectary function in one individual. Here, we report the nectary transcriptomes from both female and male nectaries at four stages of floral maturation. Analysis of these transcriptomes and subsequent confirmatory experiments revealed a metabolic progression in nectaries leading from starch synthesis to starch degradation and to sucrose biosynthesis. These results are consistent with previously published models of nectar secretion and also suggest how a sucrose-rich nectar can be synthesized and secreted in the absence of active transport across the plasma membrane. Nontargeted metabolomic analyses of nectars also confidently identified 40 metabolites in both female and male nectars, with some displaying preferential accumulation in nectar of either male or female flowers. Cumulatively, this study identified gene targets for reverse genetics approaches to study nectary function, as well as previously unreported nectar metabolites that may function in plant-biotic interactions.

Comments

This article is published as Solhaug, Erik M., Rahul Roy, Elizabeth C. Chatt, Peter M. Klinkenberg, Nur‐Aziatull Mohd‐Fadzil, Marshall Hampton, Basil J. Nikolau, and Clay J. Carter. "An integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis of the Cucurbita pepo nectary implicates key modules of primary metabolism involved in nectar synthesis and secretion." Plant Direct 3, no. 2 (2019): e00120. doi:10.1002/pld3.120.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Copyright Owner
The Authors
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Erik M. Solhaug, Rahul Roy, Elizabeth C. Chatt, Peter M. Klinkenberg, et al.. "An integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis of the Cucurbita pepo nectary implicates key modules of primary metabolism involved in nectar synthesis and secretion" Plant Direct Vol. 3 Iss. 2 (2019) p. e00120
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/basil-nikolau/60/