Integrated physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of the response of Trifolium pratense L. to Pb toxicity

Lead (Pb) interferes with plant gene expression, alters metabolite contents and affects plant growth. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the plant response to Pb is not completely understood. In the present study, Trifolium pratense L. was exposed to Pb concentrations of 0 (Pb0), 500 (Pb500), 1000 (Pb1000), 2000 (Pb2000) and 3000 (Pb3000) mg/kg in soils. Pb stress affected the ability of T. pratense to accumulate and transport Pb, increased the activity of peroxidase (POD) and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline, decreased the amount of photosynthetic pigments and soluble proteins, and led to changes in growth and biomass. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses showed that Pb mainly affected eight pathways, and LHC, flavonoids, organic acids, amino acids and carbohydrates were upregulated or downregulated. Moreover, Pb500 induced the upregulation of serA, promoted the synthesis of citric acid, maintained photosynthetic pigment levels, and ultimately promoted an increase in stem length. Pb3000 induced the upregulation of ARF, GH3 and SAUR genes, but the saccharide contents and stem length decreased in response to Pb stress. We used a variety of methods to provide a molecular perspective on the mechanism underlying the response of T. pratense to Pb stress.