Metabolite regulation plays an important role in maple sugar production and plant adaptability to adverse environmental conditions, but the studies on understanding how drought stress impacts the…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Delaware State University $132,790 under the Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202) on October 1, 2025.

The award funds global metabolome analyses of sugar maple plants in response to drought stress, with correlation studies integrating newly generated metabolome profiles with previously generated transcriptome data using weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify critical target genes, metabolite connections, and associated functions. The work includes validation of identified key target genes and their metabolic function in plant model systems. The project incorporates graduate student and postdoctoral research associate training along with undergraduate student involvement.

Performance occurs in Leipsic, Delaware, through September 30, 2027. The funding addresses knowledge gaps in how drought stress impacts sugar maple metabolites and their role in stress tolerance and maple sugar production, working around bottlenecks in tree species transformation protocols and long growth periods by validating sugar maple genes in established plant model systems where robust protocols are available.

Metabolite regulation plays an important role in maple sugar production and plant adaptability to adverse environmental conditions, but the studies on understanding how drought stress impacts the metabolites of sugar maple plants and their functions in stress tolerance are unexplored. We recently developed the global transcriptome of sugar maple in response to drought stress, there were no inclusive gene functional validation studies (mulozi ET AL., 2023). The unavailability of plant transformation protocols, the complexity of tree species genomes, and long growth periods are the bottlenecks for gene functional validation studies in sugar maples. Alternatively, validation of sugar maple genes in plant model systems, where well-established protocols are available, will provide a quick and robust approach. In this regard, the overall aim of the proposed project is to address the identified knowledge gaps in response to drought stress by conducting global metabolome analyses for metabolite biomarkers. Correlation studies by integrating the newly generated metabolome profiles with already generated transcriptome data from our previous efforts using weighted gene CO-expression network analysis (WGCNA) analysis to identify the critical target genes, metabolite connections, and associated unknown target functions. Additionally, we will validate the identified key target genes and their metabolic function in the plant model system. THI S project includes graduate student and post doctoral research associate training along with involvement of undergraduate students