Metabolic Responses of Plants to Climate-Induced Stress: A Mass Spectrometry Investigation

In the past decade, the increasing global temperature caused by climate change has significantly impacted ecosystems, exposing them to various abiotic stressors, such as drought and salinity, which can alter plant physiology. In response to these abiotic stresses, plants can modify the levels of primary and secondary metabolites and hormones. In this study, we examined the impact of three climate change-related stressors-drought, altered salinity conditions, and acidified watering-on the metabolism of Lepidium sativum, using a metabolomic approach based on high-resolution mass spectrometry. MS and MS/MS spectra were analyzed with the Compound Discoverer software for metabolite identification and statistical analysis, while MetaboAnalyst was employed for pathway analysis. Plants exposed to drought stress exhibited the most significant metabolic alterations, with 36 altered metabolites in leaves and 45 in stems. In contrast, plants subjected to salinity stress showed changes in 16 metabolites in leaves and 30 in stems. Finally, plants irrigated with acidified water (pH 3) displayed the fewest altered metabolites, with only 6 in leaves and 2 in stems. The reduced impact of acidified water may be attributed to the soil's buffering capacity, which could have mitigated the effects of the acidified water. Overall, this study assesses how climate change impacts plant metabolism, paving the way for future research aimed at understanding plant adaptation to climate change, with potential implications for botany, agriculture, and human health.