Metabolites content in different ecotypes of Panicum virgatum L.

CECILIA SANCHEZ; PAULA ROSELLO; DARÍO AIMAR; CARLOS ALBERTO MOLDES; JOSÉ MANUEL CAMIÑA; MARIO CALAFAT; MARÍA LIA MOLAS

Mar del Plata

Congreso; XV Congreso Latinoamericano de Fisiología Vegetal y la XXX Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; 2014

Sociedad Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a perennial warm-season grass, is adapted to a wide range of environments and has two distinct ecotypes: upland and lowland. Significant efforts are made for the purpose of characterizing both ecotypes, since the understanding of the nature of such variation is important in order to adopt an appropriate approach for cultivar development. In our laboratory we investigated the metabolite profile in the lowland cultivar Kanlow and the upland cultivar Greenville. Plants of 55 days old were grown in a growth chamber and foliar metabolites were analyzed. Using ANOVA, we found that the levels of 25 metabolites (p<0.05) were different in both cultivars. Among them, Mannitol, A-alanine, Myo-inositol and the acidic compounds Threonic, Citric, Shikimic, Phosphoric, Octanoic, Glutaric and Palmitic acid showed the more significant differences. Mannitol, A-alanine and Myo-inositol were higher in cultivar Greenville, while the acidic compounds were higher in cultivar Kanlow. In addition, multivariate analysis showed clear divergences in the Mannitol, A-alanine and Sucrose contents between cultivars. These differences in the content of metabolites may be due to the adaptation to different ecological conditions and can give clues to for further physiological studies and genetic improvement in switchgrass.