Work

Common-garden metabolomics reveals germplasm-associated metabolic diversity and candidate resources for functional food development in dried jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.)

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Mill.) is valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties. However, metabolic assessments of jujube germplasm based on materials collected from different geographical regions are often confounded by environmental variation, making it difficult to distinguish germplasm-associated metabolic differences from environmental effects. This study aimed to characterize metabolic diversity among dried jujube germplasm resources under common-garden conditions and identify candidate resources with favorable nutritional and functional metabolite profiles. Methods: A total of 66 dried jujube germplasm resources originating from diverse regions of China were cultivated under a common environment and evaluated using LC-MS/MS-based broad-targeted metabolomics. Metabolic profiles were characterized by principal component analysis, uniform manifold approximation and projection, and hierarchical clustering. The accumulation patterns of major nutritional and functional metabolite classes were further compared for comprehensive evaluation of germplasm resources. Results: A total of 460 metabolites were annotated, mainly including organic acids, terpenoids, flavonoids, nucleotides and derivatives, and lipids. Multivariate analyses revealed distinct metabolic profiles among germplasm resources, whereas metabolic clustering did not fully correspond to geographical origin, indicating substantial germplasm-associated variation under common-garden conditions. Organic acids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, triterpenoids, and alkaloids showed relatively large variation among germplasm resources and contributed substantially to differences in metabolic and nutritional profiles. SHX-J-C, SHX-Y-X, SHX-Y-D, and LN-G-D showed favorable profiles of key nutritional and functional metabolites. Comprehensive evaluation further identified candidate germplasm resources with distinctive metabolic characteristics and potential for targeted utilization. Conclusions: Common-garden metabolomics revealed substantial metabolic diversity among dried jujube germplasm resources beyond geographical patterns, supporting an important contribution of germplasm background to metabolic variation. The identified candidate resources provide valuable materials for further quality evaluation, breeding, and targeted utilization in functional food development.

Source: Frontiers in Plant Science

DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1980416