Morphological and metabolomics profiling of intraspecific Arabidopsis hybrids in relation to biomass heterosis

Heterosis contributes greatly to the worldwide agricultural yield. However, the molecular mechanism underlying heterosis remains unclear. This study took advantage of Arabidopsis intraspecific hybrids to identify heterosis-related metabolites. Forty-six intraspecific hybrids were used to examine parental effects on seed area and germination time. The degree of heterosis was evaluated based on biomass: combinations showing high heterosis of F(1) hybrids exhibited a biomass increase from 6.1 to 44% over the better parent value (BPV), whereas that of the low- and no-heterosis hybrids ranged from − 19.8 to 9.8% over the BPV. Metabolomics analyses of F(1) hybrids with high heterosis and those with low one suggested that changes in TCA cycle intermediates are key factors that control growth. Notably, higher fumarate/malate ratios were observed in the high heterosis F(1) hybrids, suggesting they provide metabolic support associated with the increased biomass. These hybrids may produce more energy-intensive biomass by speeding up the efficiency of TCA fluxes. However, the expression levels of TCA-process-related genes in F(1) hybrids were not associated with the intensity of heterosis, suggesting that the post-transcriptional or post-translational regulation of these genes may affect the productivity of the intermediates in the TCA cycle.