The peach is the third most important temperate fruit crop considering fruit production and harvested area in the world. Exporting peaches represents a challenge due to the long-distance nature of export markets. This requires fruit to be placed in cold storage for a long time, which can induce a physiological disorder known as chilling injury (CI). The main symptom of CI is mealiness, which is perceived as non-juicy fruit by consumers. The purpose of this work was to identify and compare the metabolite and lipid profiles between two siblings from contrasting populations for juice content, at harvest and after 30 days at 0 °C. A total of 119 metabolites and 189 lipids were identified, which showed significant differences in abundance, mainly in amino acids, sugars and lipids. Metabolites displaying significant changes from the E1 to E3 stages corresponded to lipids such as phosphatidylglycerol (PG), monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) and lysophosphatidylcholines (LPC), and sugars such as fructose 1 and 1-fructose-6 phosphate. These metabolites might be used as early stage biomarkers associated with mealiness at harvest and after cold storage.

The best ideotypes are under mounting pressure due to increased aridity. Understanding the conserved molecular mechanisms that evolve in wild plants adapted to harsh environments is crucial in developing new strategies for agriculture. Yet our knowledge of such mechanisms in wild species is scant. We performed metabolic pathway reconstruction using transcriptome information from 32 Atacama and phylogenetically related species that do not live in Atacama (sister species). We analyzed reaction enrichment to understand the commonalities and differences of Atacama plants. To gain insights into the mechanisms that ensure survival, we compared expressed gene isoform numbers and gene expression patterns between the annotated biochemical reactions from 32 Atacama and sister species. We found biochemical convergences characterized by reactions enriched in at least 50% of the Atacama species, pointing to potential advantages against drought and nitrogen starvation, for instance. These findings suggest that the adaptation in the Atacama Desert may result in part from shared genetic legacies governing the expression of key metabolic pathways to face harsh conditions. Enriched reactions corresponded to ubiquitous compounds common to extreme and agronomic species and were congruent with our previous metabolomic analyses. Convergent adaptive traits offer promising candidates for improving abiotic stress resilience in crop species.

One of the most outstanding plant species during the blooming of the Atacama Desert is the annual plant Cistanthe longiscapa . This plant can perform CAM photosynthesis, but the ecophysiological and molecular mechanisms that this plant uses to withstand the extreme conditions it inhabits in the field are unknown. Morphological and ecophysiological traits were studied and leaf samples at dawn/dusk times were collected from three sites distributed across an increasing south to north arid gradient, to evaluate CAM expression and transcriptomic differences, and search for links between photosynthetic path and abiotic response. Plants from the different sites presented significant differences in nocturnal leaf acid accumulation, isotopic carbon ratio (δ ¹³ C), succulence and other four traits that clearly indicated a spectrum of CAM photosynthesis intensity that correlated with aridity intensity. The differential gene expression analysis among Dawn vs Dusk between sampling sites showed higher gene expression in the arid northern site (3991 v/s 2293) with activation of regulatory processes associated with abscisic acid and circadian rhythm. The analysis highlights clear ecophysiological differences and the requirement of a strong rewiring of the gene expression to allow a transition from a weak into a strong CAM in C. longiscapa .

Understanding how plants survive extreme conditions is essential to breeding resilient crops. Cistanthe longiscapa, which flourishes in the Atacama Desert, provides a rare glimpse into plant resilience. To uncover the genetic basis of its stress tolerance, we investigated the ecophysiological and transcriptomic responses of C. longiscapa from 3 sites with low but different precipitation levels. Ecophysiological analyses were performed on samples collected in the field at dusk and dawn, which are crucial stages in crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a water-efficient type of photosynthesis. Additional transcriptomic analysis allowed us to evaluate CAM intensity in C. longiscapa and identify changes in the molecular signature of these plants. Our results show that C. longiscapa displays considerable ecophysiological trait response variation across the 3 sites, including variations in markers such as nocturnal acid accumulation, isotopic carbon ratio, and succulence, among others. Analysis of gene expression patterns revealed differences among plants exhibiting varying intensities of CAM photosynthesis and identified key molecular signatures associated with their ecological strategies. Additionally, genes related to stress responses, plastid activities, and circadian rhythm show contrasting expression levels between strong and weak CAM plants, and this expression profile is shared with other CAM plants under stress. Our findings demonstrate that C. longiscapa is a valuable resource for identifying genes involved in the transition between different CAM intensities. This may lead to the discovery of genes that enhance plant tolerance to stressful environments.