Metabolites reflect the integration of gene expression, protein interaction and other different regulatory processes and are therefore closer to the phenotype than mRNA transcripts or proteins alone. Amongst all –omics technologies, metabolomics is the most transversal and can be applied to different organisms with little or no modifications. It has been successfully applied to the study of molecular phenotypes of plants in response to abiotic stress in order to find particular patterns associated to stress tolerance. These studies have highlighted the essential involvement of primary metabolites: sugars, amino acids and Krebs cycle intermediates as direct markers of photosynthetic dysfunction as well as effectors of osmotic readjustment. On the contrary, secondary metabolites are more specific of genera and species and respond to particular stress conditions as antioxidants, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) scavengers, coenzymes, UV and excess radiation screen and also as regulatory molecules. In addition, the induction of secondary metabolites by several abiotic stress conditions could also be an effective mechanism of cross-protection against biotic threats, providing a link between abiotic and biotic stress responses. Moreover, the presence/absence and relative accumulation of certain metabolites along with gene expression data provides accurate markers (mQTL or MWAS) for tolerant crop selection in breeding programs.

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Plant responses to drought stress depend on highly regulated signal transduction pathways with multiple interactions. This complex crosstalk can lead to a physiological outcome of drought avoidance or tolerance/resistance. ABA is the principal mediator of these responses due to the regulation of stomatal closure that determines plant growth and survival, but also other strategies of drought resistance such as osmotic adjustment. However, other hormones such as JA seem responsible for regulating a subset of plant responses to drought by regulating ABA biosynthesis and accumulation and ABA-dependent signalling, but also by ABA independent pathways. Here, we review recent reports of ABA–JA hormonal and molecular interactions within a physiological framework of drought tolerance. Understanding the physiological significance of this complex regulation offers opportunities to find strategies of drought tolerance that avoid unwanted side effects that limit growth and yield, and may allow biotechnological crop improvement.

Phytohormones are central players in sensing and signalling numerous environmental conditions like drought. In this work, hormone profiling together with gene expression of key enzymes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonate biosynthesis were studied in desiccating Arabidopsis roots. Jasmonic acid (JA) content transiently increased after stress imposition whereas progressive and concomitant ABA and Jasmonoyl Isoleucine (JA-Ile) accumulations were detected. Molecular data suggest that, at least, part of the hormonal regulation takes place at the biosynthetic level. These observations also point to a possible involvement of jasmonates on ABA biosynthesis under stress. To test this hypothesis, mutants impaired in jasmonate biosynthesis (opr3, lox6 and jar1-1) and in JA-dependent signalling (coi1) were employed. Results showed that the early JA accumulation leading to JA-Ile build up was necessary for an ABA increase in roots under two different water stress conditions. Signal transduction between water stress-induced JA-Ile accumulation and COI1 is necessary for a full induction of the ABA biosynthesis pathway and subsequent hormone accumulation in roots of Arabidopsis plants. The present work adds a level of interaction between jasmonates and ABA at the biosynthetic level.