Differential metabolic responses of shrubs and grasses to water additions in arid karst region, southwestern China

Increasing precipitation has been predicted to occur in the karst areas in southwestern regions of China. However, it is little known how various plants respond to increasing precipitation in this region. Here we determined the impacts of water addition on leaf metabolites of grasses (Cymbopogon distans and Arundinella sitosa) and shrubs (Carissa spinarum and Bauhinia brachycarpa) in this area. Four levels of water additions (CK, T1, T2 and T3 indicating 0%, +20%, +40% and +60% relative to the current monthly precipitation, respectively) were designed. Sphingolipids substantially increased in the leaves of all four species with increasing water supply which suggests that these plants adopted biochemical strategy to tolerate the wet stress. However, both shrubs showed decreases in valine and threonine (amino acids), threonate, succinate and ascorbic acid (organic acids), galactose and rhamnose (sugars) and epicatchin and oleamides (secondary metabolites) with increasing water supply. Both grasses increased in the total metabolites at T1, but the total metabolites in A. sitosa significantly decreased at T2 and T3 while remains unchanged in C. distans. Tri-carboxylic acid cycle and amino acid metabolism in shrubs and shikimate pathway in grasses were strongly affected with water supply. Overall, shrubs and grasses respond differentially to variation in water addition in terms of metabolomics, which is helpful in understanding how plants respond to climate change.