GDSL esterases/lipases (GELPs), present throughout all living organisms, have been a very attractive research subject in plant science due mainly to constantly emerging properties and functions in plant growth and development under both normal and stressful conditions. This review summarizes the advances in research on plant GELPs in several model plants and crops, including Arabidopsis, rice, maize and tomato, while focusing on the roles of GELPs in regulating plant development and plant–environment interactions. In addition, the possible regulatory network and mechanisms of GELPs have been discussed.

Plant metabolomics plays important roles in both basic and applied studies regarding all aspects of plant development and stress responses. With the improvement of living standards, people need high quality and safe food supplies. Thus, understanding the pathways involved in the biosynthesis of nutritionally and healthily associated metabolites in plants and the responses to plant-derived biohazards in humans is of equal importance to meet people’s needs. For each, metabolomics has a vital role to play, which is discussed in detail in this review. In addition, the core elements of plant metabolomics are highlighted, researches on metabolomics-based crop improvement for nutrition and safety are summarized, metabolomics studies on plant natural products including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for health promotion are briefly presented. Challenges are discussed and future perspectives of metabolomics as one of the most important tools to promote human nutrition and health are proposed.

Arabidopsis sepals coordinate flower opening in the morning as ambient temperature rises; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Mutation of one heat shock protein encoding gene, HSP70-16, impaired sepal heat stress responses (HSR), disrupting lipid metabolism, especially sepal cuticular lipids, leading to abnormal flower opening. To further explore, to what extent, lipids play roles in this process, in this study, we compared lipidomic changes in sepals of hsp70-16 and vdac3 (mutant of a voltage-dependent anion channel, VDAC3, an HSP70-16 interactor) grown under both normal (22 °C) and mild heat stress (27 °C, mild HS) temperatures. Under normal temperature, neither hsp70-16 nor vdac3 sepals showed significant changes in total lipids; however, vdac3 but not hsp70-16 sepals exhibited significant reductions in the ratios of all detected 11 lipid classes, except the monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs). Under mild HS temperature, hsp70-16 but not vdac3 sepals showed dramatic reduction in total lipids. In addition, vdac3 sepals exhibited a significant accumulation of plastidic lipids, especially sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDGs) and phosphatidylglycerols (PGs), whereas hsp70-16 sepals had a significant accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and simultaneous dramatic reductions in SQDGs and phospholipids (PLs), such as phosphatidylcholines (PCs), phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), and phosphatidylserines (PSs). These findings revealed that the impact of mild HS on sepal lipidome is influenced by genetic factors, and further, that HSP70-16 and VDAC3 differently affect sepal lipidomic responses to mild HS. Our studies provide a lipidomic insight into functions of HSP and VDAC proteins in the plant’s HSR, in the context of floral development.