Metabolomic analysis of heat stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The negative effects of climate change on wheat production put the world's food security in danger, and rising temperatures are predicted to have an increasingly negative impact on sustained wheat productivity. A comprehensive understanding of metabolome alterations will clarify the metabolic processes that govern environmental adaptation in wheat. Therefore, metabolome analysis can aid in the more precise selection of genotypes that can withstand stress in crop breeding. This study was carried out to determine the metabolite profiles of two popular Indian wheat genotypes under control and heat stress conditions. A total of 51 known metabolites were accumulated as determined from the chromatogram after the GC-MS analysis. Metabolites such as Vitamin E, acid, Octadecanamide, and Tetracontane were highly upregulated in the heat-treated samples. Besides, there was a high accumulation of some metabolites, such as Fumaric acid, tocopherol, and palmitaldehyde in the heat-treated Raj 3765, a well-known heat stress-tolerant wheat variety in India. The research found 12 and 8 upregulating metabolites in Raj 3765 and HD 2967, respectively. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed significant activities in the steroids and arginine biosynthesis, TCA cycle and pyruvate metabolism. Further experimental validation through targeted quantification and functional assays will be required to confirm the causal role of these metabolites in heat tolerance. These results, we believe, may provide useful metabolic indicators associated with stress in wheat, which might be employed as rapid and focused diagnostic instruments to identify germplasm that performs better at elevated temperatures.