Analysis of heterosis in Arabidopsis thaliana via metabolic profiling

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Lothar Willmitzer
• Subject Area: Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology
• Term: from 2003 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5403779

The project aims at comprehensively characterizing metabolic regulations that are observed in reciprocal crosses of Arabidopsis thaliana compared to the corresponding parental lines and in recombinant inbred lines and corresponding test crosses. In the first 2-years period of the project, emphasis is given to acquire data for large sets of plant populations (P, F1, F2, RIL and TCRIL) by routine gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOF), and to extend this method to large and thermolabile compounds by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS2), specifically membrane lipids, organic phosphates and glycosylated compounds. All plants will be grown under controlled environmental conditions and randomised block designs to allow statistical evaluations. Observed metabolic alterations are then mapped to biochemical pathways and cycles in order to found links between metabolite, protein, and gene regulations. Changes in metabolism are statistically analysed with respect to hybrid vigour (incrase in dry shoot matter) observed in F1 lines and recombinant inbred lines. Metabolic inheritance will be assessed by a combination of different statistical and computational tools and linked to heterosis effects in total growth. Physiological, metabolomic, and genetic marker data will be used for the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) in close collaboration with partner projects.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1149: Heterosis in Plants