Choline metabolism in glycinebetaine accumulating and non-accumulating near-isogenic lines of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor

Glycinebetaine (GB) is a compatible solute that is accumulated by some plant species, especially under conditions leading to tissue osmotic stress. Genetic modification for accumulation of GB in an attempt to produce more stress tolerant plants has been a focus for several groups in recent years. However, attempts to increase tissue GB concentrations have been unsuccessful, with many transgenic lines accumulating far lower concentrations than naturally-occurring GB accumulators. A better understanding of the metabolic regulation of GB synthesis is necessary for successful molecular breeding and biotechnology. We utilized previously developed near-isogenic lines for GB accumulation to characterize the biochemical basis for GB deficiency in maize and sorghum. Salinity resulted in increased accumulation of choline in both accumulating and non-accumulating lines. When grown in the presence of NaCl, GB-non-accumulating lines had increased concentrations of choline and phosphocholine, but not GB. Decreased GB synthesis can be explained from the increased concentrations of phosphocholine in planta and the strong inhibition of N-phosphoethanolamine methyltransferase by phosphocholine observed in vitro. The lack of GB accumulation in GB−/− homozygous NILs was not due to the lack of the putative choline monooxygenase (the enzyme responsible for choline oxidation to betaine aldehyde) gene or protein that we describe. The previously identified bet1 locus does not appear to be choline monooxygenase. However, the lack of GB synthesis does affect the synthesis and turnover of choline moieties in GB non-accumulating lines, which may lead to alterations in overall 1-carbon metabolism in plants.