Metabolomics of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) genotypes under varying temperature regimes

Various metabolites were analyzed in groundnut genotypes grown under varying temperature regimes (based on date of sowing). Four contrasting groundnut genotypes viz. ICGS44 (high-temperature tolerant), AK159 and GG7 (moderately-high-temperature tolerant), and DRG1 (high-temperature sensitive) were grown at three different temperature regimes i.e., low (early date of sowing), normal (normal date of sowing) and high temperature (late date of sowing) under field conditions. Untargeted metabolomic analysis of leaf tissue was performed by GC-MS, while targeted metabolite profiling was carried out by HPLC (polyamines) and UPLC-MS/MS (phenolics) at both the pegging and pod filling stages. Untargeted metabolomic profiling revealed exclusive expression/induction of beta-d-galactofuranoside, l-threonine, hexopyranose, d-glucopyranose, stearic acid, 4-ketoglucose, d-gulose, 2-o-glycerol-alpha-d-galactopyranoside and serine in ICGS44 during the pegging stage under high-temperature conditions. During the pod filling stage at higher temperature, alpha-d-galactoside, dodecanedioic acid, 1-nonadecene, 1-tetradecene and beta-d-galactofuranose were found to be higher in both ICGS44 and GG7. Moreover, almost all the metabolites detected by GC-MS were found to be higher in GG7, except beta-d-galactopyranoside, beta-d-glucopyranose, inositol and palmitic acid. Accumulation of putrescine was observed to be higher during low-temperature stress, while agmatine showed constitutive expression in all the genotypes, irrespective of temperature regime and crop growth stage. Interestingly, spermidine was observed only in the high-temperature tolerant genotype ICGS44. In our study, we found a higher accumulation of cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, salicylic acid and vanillic acid in ICGS44 compared to that of other genotypes at the pegging stage, whereas catechin and epicatechin were found during the pod filling stage in response to high-temperature stress, suggesting their probable roles in heat-stress tolerance in groundnut.