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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #427146
Research Project: Genetic Resource and Information Management for Pulse, Temperate Forage Legume, Oilseed, Vegetable, Grasses, Sugar, Ornamental, and Other Crops

Location: Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research

Title: Heat stress-induced metabolomic shifts in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) flowers insights from contrasting genotypes

Author
item JHA, UDAY - Icar – Indian Institute Of Agricultural Biotechnology (IIAB)
item Warburton, Marilyn
item NAYYAR, HARSH - Punjabi University
item CHATTI, DHEERAJ - Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center-Hays
item GHATAK, ARINDAM - University Of Vienna
item SIDDIQUE, KADAMBOT - University Of Western Australia
item PRASAD, VARA - Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center-Hays

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/23/2025
Publication Date: 10/6/2025
Citation: Jha, U.C., Warburton, M.L., Nayyar, H., Chatti, D., Ghatak, A., Siddique, K.H., Prasad, V.P. 2025. Heat stress-induced metabolomic shifts in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) flowers insights from contrasting genotypes. Scientific Reports. 15.Article 34821. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21697-w.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21697-w

Interpretive Summary: Chickpea is an important crop because it is a good source of highly nutritious protein. It suffers significant yield losses when grown under high temperature stresses. Two chickpea plants of different varieties, one of which was very heat tolerant, and one that was heat susceptible, were grown under heat stress and all their cell components were chemically extracted. We found many different compounds between the two varieties, which we hypothesize are allowing the resistant plant to thrive despite the high temperatures, and we will validate these compounds in upcoming studies. Some of these compounds may be the key to breeding new heat resistant chickpea cultivars in the future.

Technical Abstract: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a vital cool-season pulse crop, experiences significant yield losses when exposed to heat stress during its reproductive stages, a vulnerability exacerbated by weather extremes. Chickpea plants synthesize numerous metabolites when subjected to heat stress; however, the underlying metabolomic mechanisms of heat tolerance remain poorly understood. In this study, we used widely targeted metabolomics to identify key metabolites and potential biomarkers in flower buds of two contrasting chickpea genotypes: heat-tolerant PI518255 and heat-sensitive PI598080, under heat stress conditions (35/20°C day/night). Volcano plot analysis identified 86 up-regulated and 230 down-regulated metabolites in response to heat stress. Heatmap analysis revealed that elevated