Integrating metabolomics and high-throughput phenotyping to elucidate metabolic and phenotypic responses to early-season drought stress in Nordic spring wheat.

Background: Understanding the metabolic responses of wheat to drought stress is essential for developing strategies to enhance its resilience under water-deficit conditions. In this study, we investigated the metabolic and phenotypic responses of twelve Nordic spring wheat genotypes subjected to drought stress over 28 days in a high-throughput phenotyping facility. By integrating metabolic profiling with phenotypic assessments, we aimed to identify key metabolites and traits associated with drought tolerance.

Results: We identified nearly 200 metabolites that were differentially accumulated across four time points, including early drought and recovery phases. Of these, 25% were organic acids, 16.2% sugars and derivatives, 16.2% amino acids and derivatives, and 10.4% alkaloids, while the rest were mainly lipids, nucleotides and derivatives, and phenolic acids. Furthermore, 32 metabolites showed significant correlations with 17 phenotypic traits, highlighting potential biomarkers for drought tolerance. These metabolic markers could be utilized in screening programs to accelerate the breeding of drought-resilient spring wheat. Our findings suggest that metabolomic changes during drought stress and recovery involve critical pathways linked to osmoprotection, antioxidant activity, and energy metabolism, which differentiate tolerant from non-tolerant genotypes.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of combining metabolomics with high-throughput phenotyping to dissect plant stress responses. By identifying key metabolic pathways and potential biomarkers for drought tolerance, our findings provide a valuable foundation for breeding climate-resilient wheat varieties. Moreover, this integrative approach enhances our understanding of plant adaptation to abiotic stress, contributing to future efforts in sustainable agriculture and food security.