Effects of the inhibitor of the γ-aminobutyrate-transaminase, vinyl-γ-aminobutyrate, on development and nitrogen metabolism in Brassica napus seedlings

γ-aminobutyrate-transaminase (EC 2.6.1.19) catalyzes the first step of the catabolism of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid well-known to accumulate in plant in response to environmental stimuli. Recent studies reinforce more and more the role of its metabolism in carbon and/or nitrogen metabolisms and as a signalling molecule in developmental processes. Here we investigated the effects of inhibition of γ-aminobutyrate-transaminase (GABA-T) in seedlings of Brassica napus, using vinyl-GABA (VGB) as a specific inhibitor of GABA-T to prevent enzyme activity. Root growth was reduced by 44% in VGB-treated seedlings but was less inhibited when VGB was associated with exogenous GABA and was not reduced with exogenous GABA alone. Measurements of GABA content in seedlings grown on VGB, GABA or VGB + GABA demonstrated that GABA level in root was not linked with the root length reduction, suggesting that GABA was not the sole component acting in root growth inhibition. Besides, metabolic profiling revealed that in root, VGB-treatment caused a twofold increase in content of almost all amino acids, except for alanine whose content was 19-fold higher than in control. In order to test the involvement of alanine accumulation on growth we studied the effects of exogenous alanine. High alanine content slightly reduced root growth suggesting that VGB-induced alanine accumulation was not responsible for root length reduction. We conclude that root growth inhibition in plants whose GABA catabolism was impaired could result at least partly from the disruption of the primary metabolism as a whole rather than direct effect of GABA on cellular growth process. ► Root growth was reduced in Brassica napus seedlings treated by the inhibitor of γ-aminobutyrate-transaminase activity. ► High GABA content in root is not the only explanation for root growth inhibition. ► Inhibition of γ-aminobutyrate catabolism was associated with changes in amino acids profiles.