Agriculture Reference
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field. For example, in rice, by using four complementary analytical platforms based on high-
coverage metabolomics, molecular backgrounds of quality traits and metabolite profiles were
correlated with overall population structure and genetic diversity, demonstrating that quality
traits could be predicted from the metabolome composition, and that traits can be linked with
metabolomics data. Results like these are opening the doors to modern plant breeding
programs [111].
Once a metabotype (metabolic phenotype) is confirmed to strengthen the tolerance to a
particular abiotic stressor, the next challenge will be the transfer of this metabolic trait to a non-
adapted plant species of interest. Engineering of more tolerant plants will then require the
efficient integration and expression of one to several transgenes in order to modify an existent
metabolic pathway or reconstruct a new complete one. Development and optimization of
protocols for robust transformation of nucleus, mitochondria, and chloroplasts must be made
available for higher plants including economically important crops; this will open new
opportunities for plant metabolic engineering [112]. Future research progress on these topics
will lead to novel strategies for plant breeding and elevating the health and performance of
crops under adverse growth conditions to keep up with the ever-increasing needs for food and
feed worldwide.
10. Conclusions
Metabolomics is the comprehensive and quantitative analysis of the entirety of small molecules
present in an organism that can be regarded as the ultimate expression of its genotype in
response to environmental changes, often characterized by several simultaneous abiotic and
biotic stresses. Results obtained from a number of metabolomic studies in plants in response
to different abiotic stresses have shown detailed relevant information about chemical compo‐
sition, including specific osmoprotectants, directly related to physiological and biochemical
changes, and have shed light on how these changes reflect the plant phenotype. Metabolomic
studies are impacting both basic and applied research. Metabolomic studies will generate
knowledge regarding how plant metabolism is differentially adjusted in relation to a specific
stress and whether metabolic adjustments are stress specific or common to different types of
stress. These studies will also reveal how metabolic pathways coordinate their fluxes and
enzymes activities in order to strength their cellular energy requirements under stressing
conditions. In an applied context, metabolomic approaches are providing a broader, deeper,
and an integral perspective of metabolic profiles in the acclimation plant response to stressing
environments. This information will reveal metabotypes with potential to be transferred to
sensitive, economically important crops and will allow design of strategies to improve the
adaptation of plants towards adverse conditions. Ultimately, design strategies will consider
plant metabolism as a whole set of interconnected biochemical networks and not as sections
of reactions that lead to the accumulation of a final metabolite. The task is challenging as it
must take into account that reactions to stress course through a complex metabolic response,
including different systematic mechanisms, time-course changes, and stress-dose dependen‐
ces. Moreover, there are differences among plant tissues, and, as expected, marked differences
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