A comparative metabolomic study on desi and kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes under rainfed and irrigated field conditions

Zaib Un Nisa,Syed Ghulam Musharraf,Hesham R El-Seedi,Anjuman Arif,Muhammad Qandeel Waheed,Ayesha Iqbal,Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary,Tariq Mahmood Shah,Amna Jabbar Siddiqui

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-70963-6

Abstract

Chickpea is considered among the most important leguminous crops in the world. However, in recent years drought conditions and/or limited availability of water have significantly reduced the production of chickpea. The current study was aimed to understand the legume stress response at the metabolic level for the determination of chickpea genotypes which can resist yield losses and could be cultivated with limited water availability. Here, we have analyzed two genotypes of chickpea, desi and kabuli under rainfed condition using a GC–MS based untargeted metabolomics approach. Results revealed significant differences in several metabolite features including oxalic acid, threonic acid, inositol, maltose and l-proline between studied groups. Accumulation of plant osmoprotectants such as l-proline, sugars and sugar alcohols was higher in desi genotype than kabuli genotype of chickpea when grown under the rainfed condition. Metabolic pathway analysis suggests that the inositol phosphate metabolism was involved in plant defense mechanisms against the limited water availability.

Highlights

Chickpea is considered among the most important leguminous crops in the world
Could provide the metabolic changes induced by the limited water availability as well as other environment and field effects, and samples were analyzed through a GC–MS based untargeted metabolomics approach
This study identified differentiating metabolic behavior of chickpea genotypes grown under rainfed conditions versus the same genotypes grown in irrigated conditions as a control in the field

Summary

Introduction

Chickpea is considered among the most important leguminous crops in the world. in recent years drought conditions and/or limited availability of water have significantly reduced the production of chickpea. Accumulation of plant osmoprotectants such as l-proline, sugars and sugar alcohols was higher in desi genotype than kabuli genotype of chickpea when grown under the rainfed condition. Chickpea seeds have good nutritional value—they contain high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids and are an inexpensive source of high quality plant protein for millions of people in developing countries[4,5]. They are rich in minerals, dietary fibers and vitamins such as tocopherol (both γ and α), folic acid, riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), and carotenoids such as β-carotene, lutein, cryptoxanthin and z eaxanthin[6]

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Discussion

Conclusion