Integrating bioclimatic factors and secondary metabolism to predict the suitable producing area of plants with high specific metabolite content in a real-world environment - a case of Carthamus tinctorius L.

The secondary metabolism of plants is greatly influenced by bioclimatic factors. Few studies on comprehensive ecometabolomics responses to bioclimatic factors in the real-world environment have been reported. As a case of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) with a high flavonoid content, we combined bioclimatic factors, a widely targeted metabolome, and weighted metabolite coresponse network analysis to explore how plants adjust their secondary metabolite content in response to the different climates. A total of 441 metabolites were detected, of which kaempferol and its derivatives were the significant eigenmetabolites in MEblue and MEbrown. The mean temperature of the warmest quarter (bio10) was the driving bioclimatic factor (36.44% contribution). The top three countries with potentially suitable producing areas of C. tinctorius are German, France and China, whose top 3 cities are Sichuan, Yunn, and Guizhou. This study established an innovative method of comprehensive eco-metabolomics analysis to predict the suitable production area of plants with high specific secondary metabolite contents and instruct artificial cultivation.