Nature Genetics 38, 842 - 849 (2006)
Published online: 4 June 2006; | doi:10.1038/ng1815
The genetics of plant metabolismJoost J B Keurentjes1, 2, 8, Jingyuan Fu3, 8, C H Ric de Vos4, 5, 8, Arjen Lommen4, 5, 6, Robert D Hall4, 5, Raoul J Bino2, 4, 5, Linus H W van der Plas2, Ritsert C Jansen3, Dick Vreugdenhil2 & Maarten Koornneef1, 71
Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Arboretumlaan 4, NL-6703 BD
Wageningen, The Netherlands. 2
Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Arboretumlaan 4, NL-6703 BD
Wageningen, The Netherlands. 3
Groningen Bioinformatics Centre, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, NL-9751 NN
Haren, The Netherlands. 4
Plant Research International, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, NL-6708 PB
Wageningen, The Netherlands. 5
Centre for Biosystems Genomics, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, NL-6708 PB
Wageningen, The Netherlands. 6
RIKILT–Institute of Food Safety, Bornsesteeg 45, NL-6700 AE
Wageningen, The Netherlands. 7
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linné weg 10, 50829
Cologne, Germany. 8
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence should be addressed to Maarten Koornneef maarten.koornneef@wur.nl Variation for metabolite composition and content is often observed in plants. However, it is poorly understood to what extent this variation has a genetic basis. Here, we describe the genetic analysis of natural variation in the metabolite composition in Arabidopsis thaliana. Instead of focusing on specific metabolites, we have applied empirical untargeted metabolomics using liquid chromatography–time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF MS). This uncovered many qualitative and quantitative differences in metabolite accumulation between A. thaliana accessions. Only 13.4% of the mass peaks were detected in all 14 accessions analyzed. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of more than 2,000 mass peaks, detected in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the two most divergent accessions, enabled the identification of QTLs for about 75% of the mass signals. More than one-third of the signals were not detected in either parent, indicating the large potential for modification of metabolic composition through classical breeding.
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