Pea Metabolomics Under Drought

Filed in archive Food and Agriculture on September 21, 2008

Researchers have screened the metabolomes of different varieties of peas for molecules that could help develop pea varieties able to withstand drought stress and climate change.

The researchers used NMR spectroscopy to produce a profile of the levels of all the different small molecules or metabolites in pea plant leaves. This profile, known as the metabolome, was then compared with that from plants subjected to controlled drought stress. The study found several key plant metabolites increased under drought stress, some of which had not previously been shown to be involved.

This study, published in the December issue of metabolomics, was funded by the Defra Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network and the EU Grain Legumes Integrated Project.

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