Bertrand Hirel, Zhazira Yesbergenova-Cuny, Yves Gibon, Anis M. Limami, Isabelle Quilleré, Rafael A. Cañas, Stéphane Nicolas, Margaret Simons, Lenaïg Brulé, Patrick Armengaud, Caroline Cukier, Fabien Chardon, Peter J. Lea, Costas D. Maranas, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Universidad de Málaga [Málaga] = University of Málaga [Málaga], Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences (IRHS), Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Biologie du fruit et pathologie (BFP), Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1, Génétique Quantitative et Evolution - Le Moulon (Génétique Végétale) (GQE-Le Moulon), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Lancaster University, Universidad de Málaga [Málaga], AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université d'Angers (UA), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2, AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université d'Angers (UA), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
UMR 1332- Equipe Virologie; A combined metabolomic, biochemical, fluxomic, and metabolic modeling approach was developed using 19 genetically distant maize (Zea mays) lines from Europe and America. Considerable differences were detected between the lines when leaf metabolic profiles and activities of the main enzymes involved in primary metabolism were compared. During grain filling, the leaf metabolic composition appeared to be a reliable marker, allowing a classification matching the genetic diversity of the lines. During the same period, there was a significant correlation between the genetic distance of the lines and the activities of enzymes involved in carbon metabolism, notably glycolysis. Although large differences were observed in terms of leaf metabolic fluxes, these variations were not tightly linked to the genome structure of the lines. Both correlation studies and metabolic network analyses allowed the description of a maize ideotype with a high grain yield potential. Such an ideotype is characterized by low accumulation of soluble amino acids and carbohydrates in the leaves and high activity of enzymes involved in the C4 photosynthetic pathway and in the biosynthesis of amino acids derived from glutamate. Chlorogenates appear to be important markers that can be used to select for maize lines that produce larger kernels.