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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 51(4)

Untargeted metabolomic analysis of the metabolites in roots of Pugionium cornutum seedlings under drought stress

Zhaoxin Wu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9207-0924 A , Ping Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9534-2403 A * and Guihua Chen A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia 010010, China. Email: wuzhaoxin1994@163.com, guihuachen2008@126.com

* Correspondence to: wangping@imau.edu.cn

Handling Editor: Thomas Roberts

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP22190 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP22190
Submitted: 20 August 2022  Accepted: 24 February 2024  Published: 14 March 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Pugionium cornutum is an annual or biennial xerophyte distributed in arid regions, with drought resistance properties. While previous studies have predominantly focused on the physiological changes of P. cornutum, the understanding of its metabolite variations remains limited. In this study, untargeted metabolomic technology was performed to analyse the change of metabolites in the roots of P. cornutum seedlings under drought stress. Our findings revealed that compared to the R1, the root water potential and the number of lateral roots increased, while the length of the tap root and fresh weight increased first and then decreased. In the R1–R2, a total of 45 differential metabolites (DMs) were identified, whereas in the R1–R3 82 DMs were observed. Subsequently, KEGG analysis revealed a significant enrichment of microbial metabolism in diverse environments and aminobenzoate degradation in the R1–R2, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, ubiquinone, and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis and isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis were significantly enriched in the R1–R3. The upregulation DMs, including L-arginosuccinate, L-tyrosine, p-coumarate, caffeate, ferulate, vanillin, coniferin, 5-aminopentanoate, 2-methylmaleate and 2-furoate in P. cornutum seedlings may play a crucial role in enhancing root growth and improving drought resistance. These findings provide a basis for future investigations into the underlying mechanisms of drought resistance in P. cornutum.

Keywords: Brassicaceae, drought stress, metabolites, physiology, Pugionium cornutum, root, untargeted metabolomics, xerophyte.

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