Developmental variation in Agave tequilana Weber var. azul stem carbohydrates.

Phenology studies the effect of seasonal and climatic variations on plant life cycles; and these variations are mainly due to temperature, light and precipitation changes among others. The content and type of carbohydrate are often used to establish seasonal, varietal, phenological and developmental stages of plants. The Agave genus is very appreciated due to its high adaptability under extreme conditions, such as water deficit and high and low temperatures, but nowadays it is more important due to its high fructan content. The purpose of this work was to establish the carbohydrate fluctuation in Agave tequilana Weber var. Azul of different ages or different stages of development. Fructans were extracted and separated into long- and short-DP fractions, and characterized by TLC and MALDI-TOF-MS. All Agaves presented glucose, fructose and sucrose like most plants, fructans and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) were always present. Qualitative and quantitative carbohydrate differences were observed at all ages. TLC results showed large differences between and within long and short-DP fractions. The presence of neotype fructans was also observed by TLC in all samples, this FOS has always been found in all Agave plants. MALDI-TOF-MS analyses allowed the establishment that DPs range between 3 and 28, and the highest DP was found in the 8 years old plants.