title: Opposite metabolic responses of shoots and roots to drought.
abstract: Shoots and roots are autotrophic and heterotrophic organs of plants with different physiological functions. Do they have different metabolomes? Do their metabolisms respond differently to environmental changes such as drought? We used metabolomics and elemental analyses to answer these questions. First, we show that shoots and roots have different metabolomes and nutrient and elemental stoichiometries. Second, we show that the shoot metabolome is much more variable among species and seasons than is the root metabolome. Third, we show that the metabolic response of shoots to drought contrasts with that of roots; shoots decrease their growth metabolism (lower concentrations of sugars, amino acids, nucleosides, N, P, and K), and roots increase it in a mirrored response. Shoots are metabolically deactivated during drought to reduce the consumption of water and nutrients, whereas roots are metabolically activated to enhance the uptake of water and nutrients, together buffering the effects of drought, at least at the short term.
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEBAB-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del vallès. 08193, Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, 08193, Catalonia, Spain [3] Service of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Biosciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra. 08913, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gargallo-Garriga
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEBAB-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del vallès. 08193, Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, 08193, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sardans
authors.affiliation: Service of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Biosciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra. 08913, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Míriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez-Trujillo
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEBAB-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del vallès. 08193, Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, 08193, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rivas-Ubach
authors.affiliation: Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Belidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oravec
authors.affiliation: Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Belidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Kristyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vecerova
authors.affiliation: Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Belidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Otmar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.affiliation: Disturbance Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jentsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kreyling
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beierkuhnlein
authors.affiliation: Service of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Biosciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra. 08913, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Teodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Parella
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEBAB-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del vallès. 08193, Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, 08193, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peñuelas
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D055864:Droughts; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism*; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000378:metabolism*; D012621:Seasons; D013312:Stress, Physiological