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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Annotation of Plant Gene Function via Combined Genomics, Metabolomics and Informatics
Published on: June 17, 2012
Analysis of the Metabolic Pathways Affected by Poly(γ-glutamic Acid) in Arabidopsis thaliana Based on GeneChip
Zongqi Xu1, Peng Lei1, Xiaohai Feng1
1State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering and Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University , Nanjing 211816, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Plant growth is promoted by poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA). However, the molecular mechanism underlying such promotion is not yet well understood. Therefore, we used GeneChip microarrays to explore the effects of γ-PGA on gene transcription in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our results revealed 299 genes significantly regulated by γ-PGA. These differently expressed genes participate mainly in metabolic and cellular processes and in stimuli responses. The metabolic pathways linked to these differently expressed genes were also investigated. A total of 64 of the 299 differently expressed genes were shown to be directly involved in 24 pathways such as brassinosteroid biosynthesis, α-linolenic acid metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and nitrogen metabolism, all of which were influenced by γ-PGA. The analysis demonstrated that γ-PGA promoted nitrogen assimilation and biosynthesis of brassinosteroids, jasmonic acid, and lignins, providing a better explanation for why γ-PGA promotes growth and enhances stress tolerance in plants.
