Metabolomics Reveals Hemiterpenoids as New Players in the Carbon–Nitrogen Economy

Artificially decreased vapour pressure deficit in field conditions modifies foliar metabolite profiles in birch and aspen

“…Hemiterpenoid glycosides (HTGs) have been reported to accumulate in Arabidopsis leaves in response to nitrate (NO 3 – ) deprivation and to increase to a lesser extent in response to root oxidative stress, root damage, and K deficiency ( Ward et al , 2011 ). In all cases, the increase in HTG content in Arabidopsis was associated with low foliar nitrate content and was proposed to play a role in N signalling and as a mechanism of carbon flux overflow under N deprivation ( Ward et al , 2011 ; Beale and Ward, 2013 ). The level of the tentative hemiterpenoid glycoside was high in birch leaves in decreased VPD, suggesting that this carbon overflow mechanism might be extended to trees.…”