Induced, Imprinted, and Primed Responses to Changing Environments: Does Metabolism Store and Process Information?

Area of Science:

• Plant Physiology
• Metabolomics
• Stress Biology

Background:

• Metabolism governs plant growth through matter uptake and conversion.
• Environmental stresses trigger plant responses, including priming for future challenges.
• Metabolites are increasingly recognized as signaling molecules in stress responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a systematic concept of persistent metabolic responses to environmental stresses.
• To define metabolic imprints and priming as mechanisms for integrating stress histories.
• To emphasize the phenotypic plasticity of plants due to individual environmental exposures.

Main Methods:

• Describing types of metabolic responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.
• Analyzing how metabolic changes persist beyond stress recovery (imprints).
• Investigating the role of these imprints in preparing plants for subsequent stresses (priming).

Main Results:

• Metabolic imprints are induced by environmental stresses and persist in plants.
• These imprints can prime plants for enhanced metabolic responses to future stresses.
• Plants integrate diverse stress histories through metabolic imprints and priming.

Conclusions:

• Genetically identical plants exhibit phenotypic plasticity due to unique metabolic adjustments.
• Metabolic imprints and priming are key mechanisms for plant adaptation to environmental variability.
• Further research should include metabolic monitoring during extended recovery phases to understand imprints.