Chilling or Chemical Induction of Dormancy Release in Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) Buds is Associated with Characteristic Shifts in Metabolite Profiles

This study reveals striking differences in the content and composition of hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds in blackcurrant buds (Ribes nigrum L., cv. Ben Klibreck) resulting from winter-chill or chemical dormancy release following treatment with ERGER, a biostimulant used to promote uniform bud break. Buds exposed to high winter chill exhibited widespread shifts in metabolite profiles relative to buds that experience winter chill by growth under plastic. Specifically, extensive chilling resulted in significant reductions in storage lipids and phospholipids, and increases in galactolipids relative to buds that experienced lower chill. Similarly, buds exposed to greater chill exhibited higher levels of many amino acids and dipeptides, and nucleotides and nucleotide phosphates than those exposed to lower chilling hours. Low chill buds (IN) subjected to ERGER treatment exhibited shifts in metabolite profiles similar to those resembling high chill buds that were evident as soon as three days after treatment. We hypothesise that chilling induces a metabolic shift which primes bud outgrowth by mobilising lipophilic energy reserves, enhancing phosphate availability by switching from membrane phospholipids to galactolipids and enhancing the availability of free amino acids for de novo protein synthesis by increasing protein turnover. Our results additionally suggest that ERGER acts at least in part by priming metabolism for bud outgrowth. Finally, the metabolic differences presented highlight the potential for developing biochemical markers for dormancy status providing an alternative to time consuming forcing experiments.