NMR metabolomics demonstrates phenotypic plasticity of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) berries with respect to growth conditions in Finland and Canada

The berries of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides ssp. rhamnoides) cultivars 'Terhi' and 'Tytti' were studied with respect to their growth location, 60 degrees and 68 degrees N latitude in Finland and 46 degrees N in Canada, using H-1 NMR metabolomics. The berries of 'Terhi' were characterised by stronger signals of quinic acid, while 'Tytti' had higher levels of 0-ethyl beta-D-glucopyranoside. The metabolic profile of the northernmost berries was distinctly different from those grown in southern Finland or Canada. Berries from northern Finland had relatively higher levels of quinic acid, glucose, L-quebrachitol and ascorbic acid. Ethyl glucoside was shown to accumulate by several fold at the late stage of maturation in the south as it correlated with degree days (r = 0.63) and global radiation (r = 0.59), but not in the north. The variance in the composition of the sea buckthorn berries demonstrates plasticity in the acclimatisation to growth environments. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.