Metabolic responses are important for plant adaptation to abiotic stress. To investigate the responses of Phlox subulata L. to drought stress, we analyzed its physiological and metabolic changes using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. Based on the physiological indices, P. subulata L. has tolerance to drought to some degree. Our results showed that there were a total of 30 key metabolites induced by drought stress, including amino acids, organic acids, sugars and sugar alcohols, nucleic acid and its derivatives, and other organic compounds. The glutamic acid-mediated proline biosynthesis pathway is continuously upregulated under drought stress, which could regulate osmotic pressure and maintain intracellular environmental stability. More secondary metabolites are used to increase glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle, to accelerate energy production and to enhance the glutamic acid-mediated proline biosynthesis pathway, which are necessary to increase osmotic regulation. Prolonged drought stress induced progressive accumulation of compatible osmolytes, such as proline and inositol, sugars, and amino acids. Therefore, drought caused systemic alterations in metabolic networks involving transamination, TCA cycle, gluconeogenesis/glycolysis, glutamate-mediated proline biosynthesis, shikimate-mediated secondary metabolisms, and the metabolism of pyrimidine. These data suggest that plants may utilize these physiological and metabolomic adjustments as adaptive responses in the early stages of drought stress. These results deepen our understanding of the mechanisms involved in P. subulata L. drought tolerance, which will help improve the understanding of drought’s effects on plant systems.

中文翻译：

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解开 Phlox subulata L. 对干旱胁迫的耐受性所涉及的生理和代谢组学反应

代谢反应对于植物适应非生物胁迫很重要。为了研究福禄考对干旱胁迫的反应，我们使用气相色谱-质谱仪分析了其生理和代谢变化。从生理指标来看，P. subulata L. 具有一定的耐旱性。结果表明，干旱胁迫诱导的关键代谢物共有30种，包括氨基酸、有机酸、糖和糖醇、核酸及其衍生物、其他有机化合物。谷氨酸介导的脯氨酸生物合成途径在干旱胁迫下不断上调，可以调节渗透压并维持细胞内环境的稳定性。更多次生代谢物用于增加糖酵解和三羧酸循环，加速能量产生并增强谷氨酸介导的脯氨酸生物合成途径，这是增加渗透调节所必需的。长期干旱胁迫诱导相容渗透物（例如脯氨酸和肌醇、糖和氨基酸）的逐渐积累。因此，干旱导致代谢网络的系统性改变，包括转氨作用、TCA 循环、糖异生/糖酵解、谷氨酸介导的脯氨酸生物合成、莽草酸介导的次级代谢和嘧啶代谢。这些数据表明，植物可以利用这些生理和代谢组学调整作为干旱胁迫早期阶段的适应性反应。这些结果加深了我们对 P. subulata L. 耐旱性机制的理解，