UPLC‐HRMS‐based untargeted metabolic profiling reveals changes in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) metabolome following long‐term drought stress

Abstract

Genetic improvement for drought tolerance in chickpea requires a solid understanding of biochemical processes involved with different physiological mechanisms. The objective of this study is to demonstrate genetic variations in altered metabolic levels in chickpea varieties (tolerant and sensitive) grown under contrasting water regimes through ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomic profiling. Chickpea plants were exposed to drought stress at the 3-leaf stage for 25 days, and the leaves were harvested at 14 and 25 days after the imposition of drought stress. Stress produced significant reduction in chlorophyll content, F /F , relative water content, and shoot and root dry weight. Twenty known metabolites were identified as most important by 2 different methods including significant analysis of metabolites and partial least squares discriminant analysis. The most pronounced increase in accumulation due to drought stress was demonstrated for allantoin, l-proline, l-arginine, l-histidine, l-isoleucine, and tryptophan. Metabolites that showed a decreased level of accumulation under drought conditions were choline, phenylalanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, alanine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, glucosamine, guanine, and aspartic acid. Aminoacyl-tRNA and plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis and amino acid metabolism or synthesis pathways were involved in producing genetic variation under drought conditions. Metabolic changes in light of drought conditions highlighted pools of metabolites that affect the metabolic and physiological adjustment in chickpea that reduced drought impacts.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal mechanisms of adaptation to salinity in which carbon and nitrogen metabolism is altered in sugar beet roots

“…A growing number of studies have reported the accumulation of allantoin in plants as a response to various stress conditions; allantoin participates in plant stress responses and provides tolerance to abiotic stress factors [76][77][78]. Similar findings in chickpea under drought stress have been reported [79].…”

Effects of exogenously applied plant growth regulators in combination with PGPR on the physiology and root growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and their role in drought tolerance

“…Abiotic stresses are the most damaging for plants, among these the most destructive that effect the plants from physiological to molecular level is drought stress that limiting the growth and yield of crop plants ( Khan et al 2018;Pereira and Chaves 1995). It is estimated that drought stress may cause a 50% loss in crop plants (Kasim et al 2013).…”

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of Lycium ruthenicum and Lycium barbarum fruits during ripening

“…Arginine is also a precursor for nitric oxide and polyamines, which are important metabolites in stress responses 52 . For example, high arginine accumulation in response to long-term drought stress was also observed in chickpea 53 . Intriguingly, we observed a strong accumulation of DL-arginine in the ripe fruit of both species, but further studies are needed to assess whether this may be related to abiotic stress adaptation in both species.…”