Leaves and roots metabolomic signatures underlying rootstock-mediated water stress tolerance in grafted pepper plants
Grafting onto pepper rootstock NIBER® is an effective strategy to mitigate water stress effects on the grafted variety. In this work, we comparatively explored the metabolomic responses to water stress in the pepper variety “Maestral F1” (V) grafted onto NIBER® (V/N) and self-grafted (V/V) by unta...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
ELSEVIER
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/9026 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X24001957 |
| Sumario: | Grafting onto pepper rootstock NIBER® is an effective strategy to mitigate water stress effects on the grafted
variety. In this work, we comparatively explored the metabolomic responses to water stress in the pepper variety
“Maestral F1” (V) grafted onto NIBER® (V/N) and self-grafted (V/V) by untargeted metabolomics on leaves and
roots. Leaf water status was also evaluated by relative water content (RWC) and gas exchange measurements.
Under water stress, the V/N water use efficiency (WUE) and leaf RWC were higher than V/V, in agreement with
major stomata closure and water retention in leaves. V/N showed a tolerance response, which was manifested in
the untargeted metabolomic analysis. NIBER® modulated the grafted variety response to water stress as reflected
in the differential metabolomic profiles in leaves and roots. The V/N-enriched metabolic pathways showed that
the NIBER® response to water stress involved cutin and suberin biosynthesis, which act as protection layers, and
jasmonic acid (JA) and jasmonates biosynthesis to favor signaling pathways. NIBER® did not induce flavonols
and chlorophyll b synthesis, but likely promoted anthocyanins biosynthesis and maintained an undisturbed
chlorophyll a:chlorophyll b ratio. Moreover, NIBER® increased vitamin B6, anthocyanins and stearic acid concentration
in the variety leaves, whereas siroheme content rose in roots to improve nitrogen assimilation. Further
studies are required to understand the contribution of secondary metabolites, such as phenylpropanoids, glycoalkaloids,
and nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites, to NIBER® water stress tolerance. |
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