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Sardans J, Gargallo-Garriga A, Urban O, Klem K, Walker TW, Holub P, Janssens IA, Peñuelas J. Ecometabolomics for a Better Understanding of Plant Responses and Acclimation to Abiotic Factors Linked to Global Change. Metabolites 2020; 10:E239. [PMID: 32527044 PMCID: PMC7345909 DOI: 10.3390/metabo10060239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The number of ecometabolomic studies, which use metabolomic analyses to disentangle organisms' metabolic responses and acclimation to a changing environment, has grown exponentially in recent years. Here, we review the results and conclusions of ecometabolomic studies on the impacts of four main drivers of global change (increasing frequencies of drought episodes, heat stress, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and increasing nitrogen (N) loads) on plant metabolism. Ecometabolomic studies of drought effects confirmed findings of previous target studies, in which most changes in metabolism are characterized by increased concentrations of soluble sugars and carbohydrate derivatives and frequently also by elevated concentrations of free amino acids. Secondary metabolites, especially flavonoids and terpenes, also commonly exhibited increased concentrations when drought intensified. Under heat and increasing N loads, soluble amino acids derived from glutamate and glutamine were the most responsive metabolites. Foliar metabolic responses to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations were dominated by greater production of monosaccharides and associated synthesis of secondary metabolites, such as terpenes, rather than secondary metabolites synthesized along longer sugar pathways involving N-rich precursor molecules, such as those formed from cyclic amino acids and along the shikimate pathway. We suggest that breeding for crop genotypes tolerant to drought and heat stress should be based on their capacity to increase the concentrations of C-rich compounds more than the concentrations of smaller N-rich molecules, such as amino acids. This could facilitate rapid and efficient stress response by reducing protein catabolism without compromising enzymatic capacity or increasing the requirement for re-transcription and de novo biosynthesis of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Sardans
- Spain National Research Council (CSIC), Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; (A.G.-G.); (J.P.)
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF) Institute, 08193 Cerdanyola del vallès, Spain
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.U.); (K.K.); (P.H.)
| | - Albert Gargallo-Garriga
- Spain National Research Council (CSIC), Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; (A.G.-G.); (J.P.)
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF) Institute, 08193 Cerdanyola del vallès, Spain
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.U.); (K.K.); (P.H.)
| | - Otmar Urban
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.U.); (K.K.); (P.H.)
| | - Karel Klem
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.U.); (K.K.); (P.H.)
| | - Tom W.N. Walker
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland;
| | - Petr Holub
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.U.); (K.K.); (P.H.)
| | - Ivan A. Janssens
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- Spain National Research Council (CSIC), Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; (A.G.-G.); (J.P.)
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF) Institute, 08193 Cerdanyola del vallès, Spain
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.U.); (K.K.); (P.H.)
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