Metabolic profile analysis based on GC-TOF/MS reveals the negative correlation between catechins and fatty acids in the cottonseed of Gossypium hirsutum

Background: The diversified and high value-added utilization of cotton by-products can promote the sustainable development of modern agriculture. Differences in potential nutrient among varieties can be explained by variations in the composition and abundance of fatty acids, polyphenols, carbohydrates, amino acids and organic acids, etc. Therefore, the analysis of metabolite species and relationships in cottonseed is meaningful for the development of cotton by-products.Results: In this study, the metabolomes of the three cotton cultivars of different species were compared using an untargeted GC-TOF/MS analysis. A total of 263 metabolites were identified from 705 peaks and their levels were compared across the cultivars. PCA and OPLS-DA of these metabolites could clearly distinguish. There were significant differences in the content of amino acids, carbohydrates, organic acids flavonoids, and lipids in G. hirsutum TM-1 compared with G. arboretum Shixiya1 and G. barbadense Hai7124. It is noteworthy that the bioactive nutrient compound catechin obtained from the differential metabolites is significantly accumulated in TM-1. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis using catechin and oil-related traits was conducted in core collections of Gossypium. And the results revealed the feasibility of the GC-TOF/MS analysis, as well as that catechin content has a negative association with myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, arachidic acid and total fatty acids.Conclusion: These fndings suggest that catechin content has a negative association with most fatty acids in cottonseed, which may provides a new solution into the underlying plant biochemistry of nutrient variation in cottonseed and pave the way to exploit the value of cotton by-products.