Metabolomic analysis applied to chemosystematics and evolution of megadiverse Brazilian Vernonieae (Asteraceae)

Author(s)

Gallon, Marilia Elias ^[1] ; Monge, Marcelo ^[2] ; Casoti, Rosana ^[1] ; Da Costa, Fernando Batista ^[1] ; Semir, Joao ^[2] ; Gobbo-Neto, Leonardo ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Pharmaceut Sci Ribeirao Preto, Av Cafe S-N, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Cidade Univ Zeferino Vaz, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Phytochemistry; v. 150, p. 93-105, JUN 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Vernonia sensu lato is the largest and most complex genus of the tribe Vernonieae (Asteraceae). The tribe is chemically characterized by the presence of sesquiterpene lactones and flavonoids. Over the years, several taxonomic classifications have been proposed for Vernonia s.l. and for the tribe; however, there has been no consensus among the researches. According to traditional classification, Vernonia s.l. comprises more than 1000 species divided into sections, subsections and series (sensu Bentham). In a more recent classification, these species have been segregated into other genera and some subtribes were proposed, while the genus Vernonia sensu stricto was restricted to 22 species distributed mainly in North America (sensu Robinson). In this study, species from the subtribes Vernoniinae, Lepidaploinae and Rolandrinae were analyzed by UHPLC-UV-HRMS followed by multivariate statistical analysis. Data mining was performed using unsupervised (HCA and PCA) and supervised methods (OPLS-DA). The HCA showed the segregation of the species into four main groups. Comparing the HCA with taxonomical classifications of Vernonieae, we observed that the groups of the dendogram, based on metabolic profiling, were in accordance with the generic classification proposed by Robinson and with previous phylogenetic studies. The species of the genera Stenocephalum, Stilpnopappus, Strophopappus and Rolandra (Group 1) were revealed to be more related to the species of the genus Vernonanthura (Group 2), while the genera Cyrtocymura, Chrysolaena and Echinocoryne (Group 3) were chemically more similar to the genera Lessingianthus and Lepidaploa (Group 4). These findings indicated that the subtribes Vernoniinae and Lepidaploinae are non-chemically homogeneous groups and highlighted the application of untargeted metabolomic tools for taxonomy and as indicators of species evolution. Discriminant compounds for the groups obtained by OPLS-DA were determined. Groups 1 and 2 were characterized by the presence of 3',4'-dimethoxyluteolin, glaucolide A and 8-tigloyloxyglaucolide A. The species of Groups 3 and 4 were characterized by the presence of putative acacetin 7-O-rutinoside and glaucolide B. Therefore, untargeted metabolomic approach combined with multivariate statistical analysis, as proposed herein, allowed the identification of potential chemotaxonomic markers, helping in the taxonomic classifications. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/05453-9 - Metabolomics analysis of Vernonia Schreb: aiming chemotaxonomic purposes
• Grantee: Marilia Elias Gallon
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 12/14397-7 - Metabolomic studies of the genus Baccharis L. (Asteraceae), in vitro evaluation of the anti-inflammatory potential and their correlation by in silico methods
• Grantee: Rosana Casoti
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/26866-7 - Metabolomics, enzymatic targets and in silico tools in the search of bioactive compounds from plants
• Grantee: Fernando Batista da Costa
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants