ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1683362
Spermidine Improves Seed Viability in Allium mongolicum Seed Viability by Regulating AmCS-Mediated Metabolic and Antioxidant Networks
Provisionally accepted
- Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
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Seed deterioration involves oxidative damage and disrupted energy metabolism, yet the genetic mechanisms underlying aging resistance in Allium mongolicum remain unclear. In this study, seeds primed with 0.8 mM spermidine (Spd) and stored for varying durations were subjected to transcriptome sequencing, targeted energy metabolite profiling, and assessments of the antioxidant systems and energy metabolism enzymes. We identified citrate synthase (AmCS) as a pivotal candidate gene involved in delaying aging processes. Under standard growth conditions, AmCS-overexpressing Arabidopsis lines exhibited a 15.14~16.0055% higher germination rate compared to wild-type (WT), with enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD), and a 46.37% increase in ATP content compared to WT. Furthermore, these transgenic lines displayed significant reductions in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂; 35.20%) and malondialdehyde (MDA; 40.40%) accumulation. Mechanistically, AmCS-overexpressing Arabidopsis lines demonstrated heightened mitochondrial functionality, manifested as a 50.26% increase in cellular respiration rate and a 1.41-fold higher NADPH/NADP⁺ ratio than WT. Yeast two-hybrid assays validated the physical interaction between AmCS and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (AmPDK), demonstrating that the AmCS-AmPDK complex retards seed aging through two key mechanisms: (i) promoting acetyl-CoA flux in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and (ii) enhancing NADPH-dependent antioxidant capacity through pentose phosphate pathway activation. Exogenous Spd activates this network by inducing AmCS expression. Our findings establish AmCS as a key genetic regulator for enhancing anti-aging traits in crop breeding, offering prospects for precision breeding and advancements in seed storage practices.
Keywords: Allium mongolicum, spermidine priming, Citrate synthase, Energy Metabolism, ROS scavenging, overexpression
Received: 18 Aug 2025; Accepted: 23 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Men, Wei, Zhang, Huang, Zhang, Feng, He and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yan Men, menyan@emails.imau.edu.cn
Xueqin He, xueqinhe@imau.edu.cn
Zhongren Yang, yangzhongren@imau.edu.cn
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