A multi-omics study revealed the effect of pulsed light treatment on germinated brown rice: Promotion of sprouting efficiency and gamma-aminobutyric acid enrichment

Physical fields are increasingly proposed in the production of germinated grain foods, thus shorting the preparation cycle of high value-added sprouted grain foods. Here, pulsed light treatment (PLT) with 300 times at a single energy of 400 J was found to significantly promote the shoot length and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in 8 varieties of germinated brown rice (GBR). Functional annotation analysis showed that the brown rice germination was promoted by the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy metabolism pathway. Moreover, PLT influenced the genes and metabolites involved in the GABA shunt and the polyamine degradation pathway, promoting the accumulation of GABA. Transcription factor OsbZIP56 was closely related to the transcript level of regulatory gene for germination and GABA enrichment. Furthermore, overexpression of OsbZIP56 in rice significantly promoted germination and GABA accumulation. These findings would be significant for improving the germination efficiency of edible seeds, promoting accumulation of active ingredients, and exploring gene functions in food materials.