Metabolomicanalysestoevaluatetheeffectof droughtstressonselectedAfricanEggplant accessions

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Drought stress is one of the main abiotic stresses that affect crops. It leads to biochemical changes that can haveadverseeffectsonplantgrowth,developmentandproductivity.Africaneggplantsareimportantvegetableandfruitcrops reported to adapt and thrive well under drought stress. The diversified metabolites arising due to stress have not been well defined.Agaschromatographic–massspectrometricmetabolomicapproachwasappliedtocharacterizetheeffectofdrought stressonmetabolitesatdifferentstagesofgrowth.Nineteenaccessionswereselectedforanalysisanddroughtwasimposedby withholding water until soil moisture reached 60% field capacity. Fresh leaf tissues were sampled before stress, 2 and 4weeks afterstressandmetaboliteprofilingdone. RESULTS:Significantchangesinmetabolitecontentwereobserved,andpotentiallyimportantmetaboliteswithrespecttostress responses were characterized. Proline, glutamate, sucrose, fructose and tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolites were shown to be positivelycorrelatedwithstress.Principalcomponentanalysisshowedacleardiscriminationbetweenthedifferentaccessions, growthstagesandstress/controlconditions. CONCLUSION:Theresultsillustratethatdroughtstresshasasignificantimpactontheconcentrationsofsomemetabolites,such asaminoacids,sugarsandorganicacids,whichmaycontributetodroughtstresseffectsandtolerance. ©2017SocietyofChemicalIndustry