Combining molecular and metabolomic analysis to evaluate transgenic Vitis vinifera plants expressing the Vitreoscilla haemoglobin (VHb)

Transgenic V. vinifera 'Brachetto' plants expressing Vitreoscilla stercoraria haemoglobin gene (vhb) were obtained by transferring the pBI-VHb construct harbouring the vhb and the nptII genes, via A. tumefaciens EAR 105. From 18 distinct transgenic plantlets, 2 lines were randomly chosen and 11 and 14 plants respectively obtained by micropropagation were acclimated for 100 days in the greenhouse, together with 10 micropropagated plants of a wild-type control line. A data-driven assessment, aimed at evaluating all measurable low-molecular weight organic compounds in these transgenic plants was performed using UPLC-Q-TOF with an ESI interface. Comparisons between controls and transgenic lines and between the two transgenic lines detected significant differences in some metabolic patterns. For each line, a list of identified compounds was extracted from the 100 most significant biomarkers