Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2014, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (1): 19-29.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1259.2014.00019

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Secondary Metabolites on Leaf Surface of Different Tomato Species

Guangjun Guo1†, Jianchang Gao1†, Xiaoxuan Wang1, Yanmei Guo1, John C. Snyder2, Yongchen Du1*   

  1. 1Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

    2Department of Horticulture, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546-0091, USA
  • Received:2012-12-18 Revised:2013-04-27 Online:2014-01-01 Published:2014-01-01
  • Contact: Yongchen Du

Abstract: Solanum habrochaites, an important tomato germplasm resource, is resistant to multiple insect pests and produces an array of secondary metabolites on the leaf surface. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the secondary metabolites on the leaf surface of 4 tomato accessions: one S. lycopersicum 9706 and 3 S. habrochaites accessions LA1777, LA2329 and PI134417. The 3 S. habrochaites accessions produced high amounts of secondary metabolites, whereas S. lycopersicum 9706 lacked most of these secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites on the 9706 leaf surface were 6 terpenoids, which included 3 monoterpenes and 3 sesquiterpenes, of 60.3% and 39.7%, respectively. LA2329 and LA1777 accumulated high amounts of sesquiterpenoids, but the types of sesquiterpenes differed between accessions. α-zingiberene was the most abundant sesquiterpene (2 409.1 μg·g–1) in LA2329. γ-Elemene and E-β-farnesene were the major sesquiterpenes in LA1777: 573.3 and 289.9 μg·g–1, respectively. Dodecanoic acid ethenyl ester, at 5 312.8 μg·g–1, was the most abundant secondary metabolite in PI134417. This metabolite has not previously been reported in any tomato species. In addition, methyl ketones, specifically 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone, at 689.8 and 1 459.7 μg·g–1, respectively, were abundant secondary metabolites in PI134417. Our study provides the theoretical basis for the use of tomato germplasm resources and the development of secondary metabolites.