Integration of the metabolome and transcriptome reveals the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in Plumeria rubra

Abstract

Plumeria rubra L. cv. Acutifolia is an ornamental tree that displays a good drought-tolerance level. However, the molecular mechanisms of P. rubra adaptation to drought stress remains unclear. Here, drought-simulating pot experiments were conducted to explore drought stress response mechanism of P. rubra. Transcriptome analysis revealed 10,967 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 6,498 of which were increased and 4,469 decreased. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the DEGs were enriched in binding category, in metabolic process category, and in catalytic activities category. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that 9 pathways were significantly enriched, including biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (ko01110), plant hormone signal transduction (ko04075) and so on. In addition, the transcription factor families of AP2/ERFs, bZIP, and C2H2 were significantly upregulated while the families of bHLH, MYB-related, and NAC were significantly downregulated. Moreover, the results of metabolomics analysis indicated that some compounds were accumulated under drought stress, especially flavonoids. Overall, it was speculated that under drought stress, P. rubra first activates the plant hormone signal transduction pathway to regulate hormone contents. Then osmotic regulating substances such as organic acids and amino acids are accumulated to maintain osmotic balance. Finally, flavonoid levels are increased to scavenge reactive oxygen species. These results preliminarily revealed the molecular mechanisms adopted by P. rubra in response to drought stress.

Metabolomics reveal root differential metabolites of different root-type alfalfa under drought stress

“…The glycolysis or gluconeogenesis pathways were measurably enriched in QS, LD, and GN under SD stress in this study, and arbutin as a natural antioxidant was involved in these pathways were all upregulated, the results show that these pathways are crucial for water deficit. SA, succinic acid, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, trans-cinnamic acid, phenylacetaldehyde, and fumaric acid of QS and GN were all down-regulated in the PM pathway, and one study found that the accumulation of organic acids improves the capacity of Plumeria rubra to withstand water shortage conditions ( Sun et al., 2023 ). Research has found that the increase in ABA content under drought stress inhibits the expression of GmPAL1 , which is the first rate-limiting enzyme encoding the PM pathway, thereby affecting downstream products such as SA and flavonoids ( La et al., 2023 ).…”

Utilizing transcriptomics and metabolomics reveal drought tolerance mechanism inNicotiana tabacum

“…For instance, metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis revealed that severe drought stress promotes alkaloid biosynthesis and asd, DapL, PrAOs, DDC, and ALDH are the key genes regulating alkaloid biosynthesis in Sophora alopecuroides [18]. Metabolomics analysis indicated that flavonoids were accumulated under drought stress [19]. Transcriptome and metabolome investigations showed that Illicium difengpi increased glutathione, flavonoids, polyamines, soluble sugars, and amino acids during drought stress, improving cell osmotic potential and antioxidant activity.…”