Multi-Omics-Based Discovery of Plant Signaling Molecules

Plants produce numerous structurally and functionally diverse signaling metabolites, yet only relatively small fractions of which have been discovered. Multi-omics has greatly expedited the discovery as evidenced by increasing recent works reporting new plant signaling molecules and relevant functions via integrated multi-omics techniques. The effective application of multi-omics tools is the key to uncovering unknown plant signaling molecules. This review covers the features of multi-omics in the context of plant signaling metabolite discovery, highlighting how multi-omics addresses relevant aspects of the challenges as follows: (a) unknown functions of known metabolites; (b) unknown metabolites with known functions; (c) unknown metabolites and unknown functions. Based on the problem-oriented overview of the theoretical and application aspects of multi-omics, current limitations and future development of multi-omics in discovering plant signaling metabolites are also discussed.

Automated summary

This review discusses the application of multi-omics in the discovery of plant signaling metabolites, highlighting how it addresses the challenges of known metabolites with unknown functions, unknown metabolites with known functions, and unknown metabolites and functions. The current limitations and future development of multi-omics in discovering plant signaling metabolites are also discussed.