Abstract:In order to elucidate the mutation mechanism of leaf color mutation ofAristaloe aristata, the phenotypic characteristics, leaf ultrastructure, photosynthetic pigment content, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and metabolomics between leaf color mutant ‘MT-1’ and normal leaf color germplasm ‘WT-18’ were compared. The results showed that compared with ‘WT-18’, the mutant ‘MT-1’ exhibited yellow strips from young leaves, and the plant type became smaller and the growth was slower. The number of stomata became less and small, and the shape changed from rectangle to square. The number of chloroplasts and internal lamella decreased, and the volume decreased obviously. The contents of photosynthetic pigments, including chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids, and chlorophyll fluorescence dynamic parameters (Fo, Fm, Fv/Fm, ФPSⅡ, qP, qN and ETR) decreased significantly. The metabolites of ‘MT-1’ and ‘WT-18’ were significantly different. The KEGG metabolic pathway analysis showed that most of the different metabolites were enriched in amino acid metabolism, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleic acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and other pathways. Therefore, the changes in chloroplast related genes might be an important cause of leaf chlorosis mutation.
