Unraveling the response of secondary metabolites to cold tolerance in oil palm by integration of physiology and metabolomic analyses

作者：Yuqiao Song, Jerome Jeyakumar John Martin, Xiaoyu Liu, Xinyu Li, Mingming Hou, Ruimin Zhang, Wen Xu, Wenrao Li, Hongxing Cao · 发表于：BMC Plant Biology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12870-025-06292-5 · 被引用次数：15 · 研究领域：Oil Palm Production and Sustainability、Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance、Plant Gene Expression Analysis

BACKGROUND: Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), a tropical crop, is highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations, with low temperatures significantly limiting its growth, development, and geographical distribution. Understanding the adaptive mechanisms of oil palm under low-temperature stress is essential for developing cold-tolerant varieties. This study focused on analyzing the physiological and metabolomic responses of annual thin-shell oil palm seedlings to low-temperature exposure (8 °C) for different time periods: 0 h (CK), 0.5 h (CD05), 1 h (CD1), 2 h (CD2), 4 h (CD4), and 8 h (CD8). RESULTS: Physiological analysis showed a significant increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD), highlighting the activation of oxidative stress defense mechanisms. Concurrently, elevated relative conductivity, indicated cell membrane damage, a common consequence of cold-induced oxidative stress. Metabolomic profiling using LC-MS/MS revealed significant changes in metabolite composition, with differential metabolites predominately enriched in key metabolic pathways such as arginine and proline metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, plant hormone biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Notable metabolites such as citric acid, L-aspartic acid, L-tryptophan, and vitexin showed significant accumulation, indicating their roles in enhancing cold tolerance through improved antioxidant defenses, promoting osmoregula...