Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome

ABSTRACT Sesame plays a vital role in food industry due to its high oil yield, antioxidant potential, and substantial protein content. Notably, there are significant differences in amino acid composition in sesame seeds at various developmental stages. However, the molecular basis and regulatory mec...

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Main Authors: Yinping Zhang, Yuanyuan Zhang, Xiangyu Zhou, Nan Yang, Duoqi Zhou, Kiran Thakur, Qiang Wang, Carlos L. Cespedes‐Acuña, Haiyang Zhang, Hongmei Miao, Zhaojun Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Food Frontiers
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.509
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author Yinping Zhang
Yuanyuan Zhang
Xiangyu Zhou
Nan Yang
Duoqi Zhou
Kiran Thakur
Qiang Wang
Carlos L. Cespedes‐Acuña
Haiyang Zhang
Hongmei Miao
Zhaojun Wei
author_facet Yinping Zhang
Yuanyuan Zhang
Xiangyu Zhou
Nan Yang
Duoqi Zhou
Kiran Thakur
Qiang Wang
Carlos L. Cespedes‐Acuña
Haiyang Zhang
Hongmei Miao
Zhaojun Wei
author_sort Yinping Zhang
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Sesame plays a vital role in food industry due to its high oil yield, antioxidant potential, and substantial protein content. Notably, there are significant differences in amino acid composition in sesame seeds at various developmental stages. However, the molecular basis and regulatory mechanism underlying amino acid production largely remain unexplored. To unravel these mechanisms, we analyzed the metabolome and transcriptome profiles of a sesame variety across four distinct growth stages (S1–S4). Our analysis identified a total of 17 amino acids, with glutamic acid (Glu), arginine (Arg), proline (Pro), and tyrosine (Tyr) exhibiting significantly higher abundances in mature stages. This increased abundance correlated with the elevated expression of genes involved in amino acid synthesis and regulatory genes. Using weighted gene co‐expression network analysis, we discovered modules associated with glutathione metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, proline, and tyrosine synthesis, along with candidate genes that regulate amino acid production and metabolism. Notably, the differential expression of genes within the amino acid pathways resulted in significant variations in the contents of Glu, Arg, Pro, and Tyr at the mature stage (28 days after flowering, S4) compared to other growth stages. Correlation analysis revealed strong association among the enzymes glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate/aspartate–prephenate aminotransferase (PAT), and polyamine oxidase (PAO) with the 17 amino acids, suggesting their potential role in the amino acid synthesis. Our findings provide novel insights into the synthesis and accumulation of amino acids during the growth stages of sesame seeds, highlighting key regulatory genes and metabolic pathways involved in this process. Our study lays the groundwork for future studies aiming to enhance the nutritional quality and yield of sesame varieties.
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spelling doaj-art-4668d63dbbb14fcbaf82c70ccc9f42c62025-08-20T02:41:27ZengWileyFood Frontiers2643-84292025-03-016277578810.1002/fft2.509Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and MetabolomeYinping Zhang0Yuanyuan Zhang1Xiangyu Zhou2Nan Yang3Duoqi Zhou4Kiran Thakur5Qiang Wang6Carlos L. Cespedes‐Acuña7Haiyang Zhang8Hongmei Miao9Zhaojun Wei10Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences Crop Research Institute Hefei Anhui P. R. ChinaSchool of Life Sciences Anqing Normal University Anqing P. R. ChinaAnhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences Crop Research Institute Hefei Anhui P. R. ChinaAnhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences Crop Research Institute Hefei Anhui P. R. ChinaSchool of Life Sciences Anqing Normal University Anqing P. R. ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering Hefei University of Technology Hefei P. R. ChinaAnhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences Crop Research Institute Hefei Anhui P. R. ChinaDepartment of Basic Sciences University of Bio‐Bío Concepción ChileHenan Sesame Research Center Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences Zhengzhou City Henan P. R. ChinaHenan Sesame Research Center Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences Zhengzhou City Henan P. R. ChinaSchool of Food and Biological Engineering Hefei University of Technology Hefei P. R. ChinaABSTRACT Sesame plays a vital role in food industry due to its high oil yield, antioxidant potential, and substantial protein content. Notably, there are significant differences in amino acid composition in sesame seeds at various developmental stages. However, the molecular basis and regulatory mechanism underlying amino acid production largely remain unexplored. To unravel these mechanisms, we analyzed the metabolome and transcriptome profiles of a sesame variety across four distinct growth stages (S1–S4). Our analysis identified a total of 17 amino acids, with glutamic acid (Glu), arginine (Arg), proline (Pro), and tyrosine (Tyr) exhibiting significantly higher abundances in mature stages. This increased abundance correlated with the elevated expression of genes involved in amino acid synthesis and regulatory genes. Using weighted gene co‐expression network analysis, we discovered modules associated with glutathione metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, proline, and tyrosine synthesis, along with candidate genes that regulate amino acid production and metabolism. Notably, the differential expression of genes within the amino acid pathways resulted in significant variations in the contents of Glu, Arg, Pro, and Tyr at the mature stage (28 days after flowering, S4) compared to other growth stages. Correlation analysis revealed strong association among the enzymes glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate/aspartate–prephenate aminotransferase (PAT), and polyamine oxidase (PAO) with the 17 amino acids, suggesting their potential role in the amino acid synthesis. Our findings provide novel insights into the synthesis and accumulation of amino acids during the growth stages of sesame seeds, highlighting key regulatory genes and metabolic pathways involved in this process. Our study lays the groundwork for future studies aiming to enhance the nutritional quality and yield of sesame varieties.https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.509amino acid biosynthesismetabolismmetabolomesesame seed developmenttranscriptome
spellingShingle Yinping Zhang
Yuanyuan Zhang
Xiangyu Zhou
Nan Yang
Duoqi Zhou
Kiran Thakur
Qiang Wang
Carlos L. Cespedes‐Acuña
Haiyang Zhang
Hongmei Miao
Zhaojun Wei
Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome
Food Frontiers
amino acid biosynthesis
metabolism
metabolome
sesame seed development
transcriptome
title Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome
title_full Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome
title_fullStr Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome
title_full_unstemmed Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome
title_short Unraveling the Amino Acid Synthesis in Maturity Sesame Seeds Based on the Integrative Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome
title_sort unraveling the amino acid synthesis in maturity sesame seeds based on the integrative analysis of transcriptome and metabolome
topic amino acid biosynthesis
metabolism
metabolome
sesame seed development
transcriptome
url https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.509
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