Drought stress, a major abiotic stress, significantly affects wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production globally. To identify genes and metabolic pathways crucial for responding to short-term drought stress, we conducted transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of winter wheat cultivar Jimai 418 at four developmental stages: jointing (GS31), booting (GS45), anthesis (GS65), and 8 days after anthesis (DAA8). Transcriptomic analysis identified 14,232 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under drought stress compared to the control. Specifically, 1387, 4573, 7380, and 892 DEGs were identified at the four developmental stages, respectively. Enriched pathways associated with these DEGs included plant hormone signal transduction, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, galactose metabolism, and starch and sucrose metabolism. Totals of 222, 633, 358, and 38 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were identified at the four stages, respectively. Correlation analysis of both datasets revealed DEGs and DAMs associated with plant hormone signal transduction, arginine and proline metabolism, ABC transporters, and amino acid biosynthesis. These findings offer significant insights into Jimai 418’s molecular response to short-term drought stress. The identified DEGs, DAMs, and enriched pathways contribute to our understanding of wheat drought tolerance. This research will facilitate further investigations into drought tolerance mechanisms and guide the breeding of wheat varieties with enhanced drought resistance.

Trihelix transcription factors have essential functions in plant development, growth, and coping with environmental stresses. Peas (Pisum sativum) are an important economic crop, rich in protein themselves, and their stems and leaves also serve as high-quality green manure and forage. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the trihelix gene family in the pea, identifying a total of 56 PsTrihelix genes. These genes exhibited significant diversity in structure and were classified into six subfamilies based on their homology with Arabidopsis thaliana. Additionally, we found that trihelix genes in the pea were most densely distributed on chromosome 6, with segmental duplication events further confirming the importance of chromosome 6. In terms of gene structure, most PsTrihelix genes contained few introns, although two genes contained a higher number of introns, and the relationship between motif number and exon number was complex. Through evolutionary and collinearity analysis with other plants, we found that pea and tomato exhibit the highest number of collinear Trihelix genes, indicating a closer evolutionary relationship between the two species. Regarding functional prediction, trihelix genes were highly expressed in pea leaf and bean tissues and exhibited significant expression changes under specific stresses and hormone treatments, suggesting their important roles in plant growth, development, and adaptation strategies. Particularly, the PsTrihelix55 showed significant upregulation under multiple stress treatments, making it a promising candidate gene for further study. These results offer valuable perspectives on the role and evolutionary history of the trihelix gene family in peas, and lay the groundwork for subsequent studies in this field.