Combined Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Approach Revealed a Relationship between Light Control, Photoprotective Pigments, and Lipid Biosynthesis in Olives.
Tiziana Maria Sirangelo, Ivano Forgione, Samanta Zelasco, Cinzia Benincasa, Enzo Perri, Elisa Vendramin, Federica Angilè, Francesco Paolo Fanizzi, Francesco Sunseri, Amelia Salimonti, Fabrizio Carbone
Author Information
Tiziana Maria Sirangelo: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Ivano Forgione: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Samanta Zelasco: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy.
Cinzia Benincasa: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Enzo Perri: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Elisa Vendramin: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via di Fioranello, 52, 00134 Rome, Italy.
Federica Angilè: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Francesco Paolo Fanizzi: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy. ORCID
Francesco Sunseri: Department Agraria, University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy. ORCID
Amelia Salimonti: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Fabrizio Carbone: Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo, 83, 87036 Rende, Italy. ORCID
Olive possesses excellent nutritional and economic values for its main healthy products. Among them, a high content of antioxidant compounds, balanced during the ripening process, are produced under genetic and environmental control, resulting in high variability among cultivars. The genes involved in these complex pathways are mainly known, but despite many studies which indicated the key role of light quality and quantity for the synthesis of many metabolites in plants, limited information on these topics is available in olive. We carried out a targeted gene expression profiling in three olive cultivars, Cellina di Nardò, Ruveia, and Salella, which were selected for their contrasting oleic acid and phenolic content. The - combined approach revealed a direct correlation between a higher expression of the main flavonoid genes and the high content of these metabolites in 'Cellina di Nardò'. Furthermore, it confirmed the key role of in the linoleic acid biosynthesis. More interestingly, in all the comparisons, a co-regulation of genes involved in photoperception and circadian clock machinery suggests a key role of light in orchestrating the regulation of these pathways in olive. Therefore, the identified genes in our analyses might represent a useful tool to support olive breeding, although further investigations are needed.
