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

- NMR metabolomics of sea buckthorn berries of the cultivars 'Terhi' and 'Tytti'.
- Phenotypic plasticity is revealed when comparing different growth sites.
- Sub-arctic latitude has a major phenological effect on berry composition.
- Ethyl glucoside is accumulated during ripening in southern growth conditions.
- Key fingerprints were quinic acid for 'Terhi' and ethyl glucoside for 'Tytti'.

The berries of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides ssp. rhamnoides) cultivars 'Terhi' and 'Tytti' were studied with respect to their growth location, 60° and 68° N latitude in Finland and 46° N in Canada, using 1H NMR metabolomics. The berries of 'Terhi' were characterised by stronger signals of quinic acid, while 'Tytti' had higher levels of O-ethyl β-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.