European Journal of Sustainable Agroecosystems

Drought is identified as one of the major factors limiting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production globally, where recovery after rehydration is involved not only during the drought period but also afterwards and is recognized as a key factor influencing the yield. Integrated metabolomics and proteomics have been utilized as an effective means of exploring the processes at the molecular level to understand the mechanisms involved in the recovery process at the systems level. In this review, the results of studies published in peer-reviewed journals on integrated multispecies analysis of drought stress and recovery in wheat and other closely related cereals are presented. The analysis of the available data suggests that drought stress and next rehydration result in simultaneous reversible changes in a wide range of metabolites (from dozens to hundreds) mainly including amino acids, organic acids, sugars, and phenolic compounds, and proteins involved in such processes as photosynthesis, redox homeostasis, energy metabolism, and protein turnover. The results of comparative proteomic and metabolomic studies conducted in various types of wheat have shown that more effective drought recovery is connected with higher restoration of cellular homoeostasis of various cells, including the restoration of their relative water content, antioxidant activity, and some The studies reviewed consistently reveal that the abundance of proteins involved in photosynthesis was significantly greater in drought-resistant cultivars compared to drought-sensitive ones. The mechanisms of cytoplasm osmosis (accumulation of proline, glycine betaïne, and soluble sugars) and control of oxidative pressure (via activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase) were found to be among the essential components of the response to drought recovery, and the above mechanisms have been present through evolution. The multi-omics approach provided an opportunity to correlate changes in metabolite concentrations and protein levels with physiological traits, although the research is primarily based on metabolomic and transcriptomic methods rather than metabolomic and proteomic investigations and not enough attention has yet been paid to wheat recovery studies that concentrate on the recovery period instead of the stress period. Overall, the reviews confirm that using integrated multi-omics methods can substantially contribute to the development of general scientific knowledge.