Metabolome signatures during zygotic and somatic embryogenesis of Araucaria angustifolia.

Authors

Bruno Viana Navarro, Jean-Christophe Cocuron, Leandro Francisco de Oliveira, Marina Camara Mattos Martins, Vinícius Jardim, Ana Paula Alonso, Marcos S Buckeridge, Eny I S Floh

Published in

Tree physiology. Jul 06, 2026. Epub Jul 06, 2026.

Abstract

Araucaria angustifolia (Brazilian pine) is a native conifer of high ecological and socioeconomic value and serves as a model for studying zygotic and somatic embryogenesis. Here, we combined biomass composition and targeted metabolomics to compare embryo development in seeds and embryogenic cultures, to identify metabolic features associated with embryogenic competence. We analyzed zygotic embryos at globular, cotyledonal, and mature stages, their corresponding megagametophytes, and two somatic embryogenic cell lines (Responsive and Blocked) with different embryogenic potential at proliferation and maturation phases. A total of 116 metabolites and biomass components belonging to six major classes (amino acids and their derivatives, fatty acids, sugars and starch, sugar alcohols, phosphorylated compounds, and organic acids) were identified. Biomass data showed a marked shift from a globular embryo dominated by insoluble residue to starch- and protein-rich late zygotic stages, whereas somatic lines retained high proportions of insoluble residue and showed limited reserve accumulation. Hierarchical clustering and multivariate discriminant analysis revealed distinct metabolic signatures for zygotic and somatic systems, with amino acids and organic acids emerging as key discriminants. Isocitrate showed the highest VIP score and was positively correlated with several amino acids and soluble sugars. Co-metabolic network analysis further indicated that amino acid and organic acid classes underwent the strongest topological reorganization, forming increasingly modular and connected networks in zygotic embryos compared to somatic cultures. Together, these results highlight central carbon and nitrogen metabolism as key axes distinguishing zygotic and somatic embryogenesis in A. angustifolia, and identify specific metabolites and network features as candidate markers of embryogenic competence.

PMID:
42406810
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Jul 2026.

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