Abstract
Domestication has profoundly influenced the evolution of plant metabolism, shaping the balance between productivity and ecological resilience. To explore the biochemical consequences of this process, we performed an integrative metabolomic comparison between the domesticated Sechium edule var. albus minor and its wild relative S. edule 653-d. Using complementary non-targeted UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS and targeted HPLC analyses, we identified over 15,800 spectral features and 150 putative metabolites revealing a marked reorganization of metabolic networks. Principal component, hierarchical clustering, and tanglegram analyses confirmed a deep topological divergence between genotypes, indicating that domestication reprogrammed metabolite associations and reduced overall chemical connectivity. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the domesticated genotype prioritized primary metabolism particularly lipid, nucleotide, and amino acid biosynthesis while the wild form retained a metabolism dominated by flavonoid, terpenoid, and phenylpropanoid pathways associated with defense, antioxidant activity, and environmental plasticity. Targeted quantification validated these patterns, evidencing a metabolic trade-off between nutritional optimization and stress resilience. Collectively, our results demonstrate that S. edule domestication entailed a functional shift from chemical diversity to energetic efficiency, providing a metabolomic framework to understand how artificial selection reshapes plant secondary metabolism and highlighting the value of wild germplasm for restoring resilience and nutraceutical potential in cultivated species.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
The metabolomic analysis identified more than 15,800 spectral features.
- Taxon
- Sechium edule
Sicyos edulist0 - Outcome
- spectral featurese0
- Value
- over 15,800e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“we identified over 15,800 spectral features and 150 putative metabolites”
t0“Sechium edule”
Claim · model-written summary
The analysis identified 150 putative metabolites.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulist0
- Outcome
- putative metabolitese0
- Value
- 150e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“we identified over 15,800 spectral features and 150 putative metabolites”
t0“Sechium edule”
Claim · model-written summary
Metabolic networks differed markedly between domesticated and wild genotypes.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulise1
- Material
- Sechium edule var. albus minore1
- Outcome
- marked reorganization of metabolic networkse0
- Comparator
- S. edule 653-de1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“revealing a marked reorganization of metabolic networks”
e1“between the domesticated Sechium edule var. albus minor and its wild relative S. edule 653-d”
Claim · model-written summary
The two genotypes showed deep topological divergence in metabolite associations.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulise1
- Material
- Sechium edule var. albus minore1
- Outcome
- deep topological divergencee0
- Comparator
- S. edule 653-de1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Principal component, hierarchical clustering, and tanglegram analyses confirmed a deep topological divergence between genotypes”
e1“domesticated Sechium edule var. albus minor and its wild relative S. edule 653-d”
Claim · model-written summary
Domestication reduced overall chemical connectivity.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulist0
- Outcome
- overall chemical connectivitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Comparator
- domesticatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“indicating that domestication reprogrammed metabolite associations and reduced overall chemical connectivity”
t0“Sechium edule”
Claim · model-written summary
The domesticated genotype prioritized lipid, nucleotide and amino acid biosynthesis.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulise1
- Material
- Sechium edule var. albus minore1
- Outcome
- lipid, nucleotide, and amino acid biosynthesise0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the domesticated genotype prioritized primary metabolism particularly lipid, nucleotide, and amino acid biosynthesis”
e1“domesticated Sechium edule var. albus minor”
Claim · model-written summary
The wild genotype retained metabolism dominated by flavonoid, terpenoid and phenylpropanoid pathways.
- Taxon
- S. eduleSicyos edulise1
- Material
- S. edule 653-de1
- Outcome
- flavonoid, terpenoid, and phenylpropanoid pathwayse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the wild form retained a metabolism dominated by flavonoid, terpenoid, and phenylpropanoid pathways”
e1“wild relative S. edule 653-d”
Claim · model-written summary
Targeted quantification supported a trade-off between nutritional optimization and stress resilience.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulist0
- Outcome
- metabolic trade-off between nutritional optimization and stress resiliencee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Targeted quantification validated these patterns, evidencing a metabolic trade-off between nutritional optimization and stress resilience”
t0“Sechium edule”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors interpreted domestication as shifting metabolism from chemical diversity to energetic efficiency.
- Taxon
- S. eduleSicyos edulise0
- Outcome
- functional shift from chemical diversity to energetic efficiencye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“S. edule domestication entailed a functional shift from chemical diversity to energetic efficiency”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors highlighted wild germplasm as a source for restoring resilience and nutraceutical potential.
- Taxon
- Sechium eduleSicyos edulist0
- Outcome
- value of wild germplasm for restoring resilience and nutraceutical potentiale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“highlighting the value of wild germplasm for restoring resilience and nutraceutical potential in cultivated species”
t0“Sechium edule”