Metabolomics of Daucus carota cultured cell lines under stressing conditions reveals interactions between phenolic compounds

A metabolomic approach followed by principal components and partial least square analysis was used for investigating the effect of environmental factors on two Daucus carota L. cv. Flakkese cell lines (R3M and R4G), selected for their ability to produce anthocyanins in the light and the dark, respectively. A positive correlation between total anthocyanin, hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acid accumulation was found in both lines. Furthermore, the experimental design and the combination of biochemical and statistical analyses allowed us to unravel complex relationships between environmental factors and phenylpropanoid composition. Among these, the induction by mechanical stress of overproduction of all anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids except sinapic acid derivatives, whose accumulation was inhibited.