Comparative Transcriptome and Metabolome Profiling Revealed Molecular Cascade Events During the Enzymatic Browning of Potato Tubers After Cutting

Li Wang ¹, Jianwei Shan ¹, Jitao Liu ¹

⁰Research Institute of Crops, Provincial Key Laboratory of Crops Genetic Improvement, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.

Plants (basel, Switzerland) +

|

June 27, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Enzymatic browning in potatoes involves changes in gene expression, particularly in phenol and lipid biosynthesis. Browning-susceptible potatoes show earlier redox pathway activation and stronger phenolic synthesis than browning-resistant ones.

Area Of Science

Plant Science
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology

Background

Enzymatic browning significantly reduces potato quality and nutritional value during processing.
Limited understanding exists regarding transcriptome-level changes and variations in browning potential among potato tubers.

Purpose Of The Study

To characterize temporal molecular events during enzymatic browning in browning-resistant (BR) and browning-susceptible (BS) potato tubers.
To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying differential enzymatic browning potential in potatoes.

Main Methods

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze gene expression profiles in BR and BS potato tubers after cutting.
Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses to identify functional pathways.

Main Results

Identified 19,377 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in BR tubers and 13,741 DEGs in BS tubers.
Up-regulated DEGs were enriched in phenol and lipid biosynthesis pathways; down-regulated DEGs were enriched in programmed cell death pathways.
Redox-related pathways activated earlier in BS tubers, which also exhibited stronger phenolic synthesis but lower free radical scavenging ability compared to BR tubers.

Conclusions

Transcriptome analysis reveals key molecular events during potato enzymatic browning.
Differences in phenolic synthesis and free radical scavenging contribute to varying browning potentials in potato tubers.

Keywords:

cut-wounding enzymatic browning metabolome potato tubers transcriptome